National team coaches appreciate the role of UAFA.. as the fans attendance will be free through “Makani”..Saudi Arabia against Mauritania in the start of the Arab Beach Soccer Championship.. and Lebanon with Morocco in the second match

Tomorrow evening, Thursday, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the fourth edition of the Arab Beach Soccer Championship, organized by the Union of Arab Football Associations and hosted by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, will start from 11 to 20 May, with the participation of Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Morocco, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, UAE, Libya, Kuwait and Comoros.

Two matches will be held within the first day of the tournament, the first between the national teams of Saudi Arabia and Mauritania, and the second between the national teams of Morocco and Lebanon.

Organizing Committee meeting

On the other hand, the Organizing Committee, headed by committee member Mr. Moeed Al-Shehri, held its first meeting on Wednesday morning in the presence of the members of the committee, and was briefed on all the latest preparations for the launch of the tournament competitions, including the regulations, matches schedule, referees list approved by the Referees Committee, in addition to approving the eligibility of players and approving referees, observers, and coordinators.

The committee also checked the readiness of the championship stadium and all the organizational, administrative, technical and operational aspects, and invited all sports fans to attend the matches, by obtaining a free ticket through “Makani” platform, as stands with a capacity of two thousand seats were prepared, and it is available to all fans; Individuals and families, at Al-Hamra Corniche Beach in Jeddah.

Referee Committee meeting

On the other hand, the Referees Committee held a physical fitness test for the referees participating in the championship, as the member of the Referees Committee, Mr. Ibrahim Al Mansouri, confirmed that 19 Arab referees representing the best Arab referees in the continents of Asia and Africa were chosen to manage the tournament matches, indicating that he field fitness tests were conducted on Wednesday morning for all referees, and they were passed successfully.

After that, the preparatory technical coordination meeting for the championship matches was held, in the presence of representatives of the participating teams, as they were briefed on the championship regulations, match systems, training and match dates, as well as approving the shirts and colors of the participating teams.

Press conferences for national teams coaches

On the other hand, a press conference was held for national team coaches this evening in Jeddah, in preparation for the start of the Arab Beach Soccer Championship 2023, to talk about the latest preparations for participation in the championship.

The coach of the Saudi national team, Joga Zlokovic, welcomed the teams participating in the championship, wishing them to achieve the expected success, adding: “We started preparing to participate in the championship after the end of Ramadan, and the national team is witnessing a gradual development in the level, and we played a number of friendly matches, the most prominent of which was against the Egyptian national team, our goal is to win the championship trophy, not just to host and participate, and we expect the fans to come and support the players”.

For his part, the coach of the Lebanese national team, Khaled Berjawi, thanked the Union of Arab Football Associations for organizing the Arab Beach Soccer Championship, and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation for hosting, saying: “Our preparations for the tournament were good, as we played 3 friendly matches against the Kuwaiti national team, and we have young players, we hope to win the championship with them after the team finished second in the last edition”.

While the coach of the Mauritanian national team, Moussa Bagigou, expressed his great happiness with his presence in Saudi Arabia, expressing his thanks to UAFA and SAFF for organizing and hosting the championship, stressing: “We are here to learn from our Arab brothers, our team is new to this game, and some teams are years ahead of us, and this is the beginning for us, I wish success to all”.

On the other hand, Morocco coach Omar Sylla expressed his happiness for participating in the championship, indicating that he expects a strong edition this year, adding: “We have prepared well, and we are ready to participate and be crowned with the championship, despite the difficulty of competition in the presence of strong teams, and in the end the best team will be crowned”.

For his part, the coach of the Palestinian national team, Sami Salem, thanked UAFA and the organizers of the championship for the hospitality they found, and said: “I am honored to be among the great coaches, our preparations are good and correspond to the difficulty of our group, which includes Oman national team the third in Asia, and Egypt the runner-up in Africa, we have players participating for the first time, and we strive to preserve the reputation of our team, and we aspire to provide positive results”.

On the other hand, Oman national team coach Tarrek Hilal expressed his great happiness for the return of Arab Beach Soccer Championship after an absence for several years, and said: “We have been waiting for this championship for many years, and we are very much looking forward to participating and achieving the title, especially since we prepared well in Thailand, and qualified to the World Cup, and we respect all the participating teams, and I wish the success of this edition”.

For his part, the coach of the Egyptian national team, Mustafa Lotfi, thanked UAFA and SAFF for organizing and hosting the tournament, wishing that the championship would be held annually to raise the level of the Arab teams, adding: “We set up a preparatory camp in Alexandria, during which we played friendly matches, the most prominent of which was against UAE national team, and we also arrived in Jeddah 5 days before the start of the championship, and we faced the Saudi national team in a friendly match”.

As for the coach of the Libyan national team, Mohamed Al-Marni, he said: “Our preparations were successful, and the most important thing is to meet the Arab brothers, we hope for the continuity of the championship as it contributes to improving the levels of the national team, and I wish success to everyone.”

For his part, Kuwait national team coach Ahmed Abdel Razek expressed his great happiness for the return of the championship after an absence, appreciating the role of UAFA in contributing to raising the levels of the national teams, and said: “Our group includes strong teams, some of which have already achieved championships, and our team is in the process of improving in performance and results, as we qualified for the first time to the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup, and I hope to present honorable levels and results”.