In a recent development, the AIFF announced the fixtures, date and time for the inaugural Beach soccer championship set to take place at Gujarat. Indian Football ever since the arrival of Kalyan Chaubey as the President is making big moves and organizing various tournaments at different levels to help the sport boom in all parts of the country.
After introducing the new look Santosh Trophy held towards the end of 2022 and the second edition of Futsal Championship, AIFF are set introduce the concept of Beach “Soccer” as the governing body aims to expand the scale of football in a country which is dominated by Cricket.
The General Secretary of AIFF, Dr. Shaji Prabhakarn was among the executives present at the Football house at New Delhi on Monday (January 2) to release the schedule of the Beach soccer initiative. It was the occasion of New Year when Indian football fans received the news. Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran wished everyone a prosperous year ahead and also expressed his excitement as well as anticipation for the event which is all set to start from January 26.
Last year, the Beach Soccer committee of AIFF asked to formalize the constitution of a Sub-committee that can look into the logistical and operational sides. And as soon as the year began, the Governing committee has announced the fixtures. One of the things that were discussed during the committee sessions were that Beach Soccer footballers will not be classified in the same category as regular footballers who play tournaments like ISL, I-League and Santosh Trophy.
Twenty teams to participate in maiden Hero National Beach Soccer Championship
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— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) January 2, 2023
It was discussed that Beach footballers are a totally different breed and non-beach footballers will not be eligible to feature in the Beach soccer tournament. It is a good move by the All India Football Federation as filling these small gaps will go a long way in developing Football in India and a total of 20 teams from across India will battle it out for the Beach Soccer title.
AIFF General Secretary is delighted to host such an event which is widely popular in European and South American nations. “We are thrilled to launch this competition and are thankful to the Gujarat State Football Association for conducting the event. It is commendable that 20 teams will take part in the competition to be held in Surat.” Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran said in an AIFF release.
“Seeing as this is the first time the competition will be held, there are obviously no favorites. Every team will come with an open mindset hoping to capitalize and become the inaugural champions. We look forward to an exciting event.” – Dr. Prabhakaran further added.
The Chairperson of Beach Soccer committee Jignesh Patil also expressed his anticipation for the event and he is optimistic about more and more teams participating in future. The Hero National Beach Soccer Championship will get underway at the Dumas Beach, Surat in Arena 1 and 2. Below are the groups for the event –
Group A –Â Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Lakshwadeep, Andaman & Nicobar
Group B –Â Gujarat, Rajasthan, Services, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
Group C –Â Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Delhi.
Group D –Â Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka.
Fixtures for the Hero National Beach Soccer Championship –
Group AÂ
| Date | Match |
| January 26 | Himachal Pradesh Vs Lakshadweep & Bihar Vs Jharkhand |
| January 27 | Andaman & Nicobar Vs Jharkhand & Himachal Pradesh Vs Bihar |
| January 28 | Lakhsadweep Vs Bihar & Andaman & Nicobar Vs Himachal Pradesh |
| January 29 | Jharkhand Vs Himachal Pradesh & Lakhsadweep Vs Andaman & Nicobar |
| January 30 | Bihar Vs Andaman & Nicobar and Jharkhand Vs Lakhsadweep |
Group BÂ
| Date | Match |
| January 26 | Gujarat Vs Kerala & Rajasthan Vs Services |
| January 27 | Madhya Pradesh Vs Services & Gujarat Vs Rajasthan |
| January 28 | Kerala Vs Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh Vs Gujarat |
| January 29 | Services Vs Gujarat & Kerala Vs Madhya Pradesh |
| January 30 | Rajasthan Vs Madhya Pradesh & Services Vs Kerala |
Group C
| Date | Match |
| January 26 | Mizoram Vs Manipur & Andhra Pradesh Vs Uttarakhand |
| January 27 | Delhi Vs Uttarakhand & Mizoram Vs Andhra Pradesh |
| January 28 | Manipur Vs Andhra Pradesh & Delhi Vs Mizoram |
| January 29 | Uttarakhand Vs Mizoram & Manipur Vs Delhi |
| January 30 | Andhra Pradesh Vs Delhi & Uttarakhand Vs Manipur |
Group DÂ
| Date | Match |
| January 26 | DNH & DD Vs Goa & Odisha Arunachal Pradesh |
| January 27 | Karnatak vs Arunachal Pradesh & DNH & DD Vs Odisha |
| January 28 | Goa Vs Odisha & Karnatak vs DNH & DD |
| January 29 | Arunachal Pradesh Vs DNH & DD and Goa Vs Karnataka |
| January 30 | Odisha Vs Karnataka & Arunchal Pradesh Vs Goa |
Quarter Finals, Semi-Final and Final will be played on January 31.
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