Bilikiki team manager Reuben Oimae has announced a preliminary squad of 17 players, with veterans from the 2006 squad named alongside some newer, less experienced players.
Following an initial meeting of the squad over the weekend, Oimae expects training to get underway this week, with sessions set to take place weekly for the first month before intensifying as the event – which doubles as a qualifier for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Tahiti 2013 – draws nearer.
Former players Gideon Omokirio and Eddie Ngaitini have been tasked with looking after the squad but the duo’s appointment has not yet been formalised by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF).
A surprise recall has been given to Samson Takayama, who starred in the 2006 and 2007 team but left soon after. He recommenced training with the group in 2012 and Oimae says his chances of making the final squad are good.
“Samson is one of the best beach soccer players in Solomon Islands and after some years making a name for himself in 11-a-side football he has decided to return to our discipline,” Oimae says.
“He has natural qualities that make him special and it will require hard work from the younger players to beat him to a spot in the final 12.”
This is a big year for the sand-based discipline in Oceania as the region is set to go beach-soccer crazy with the first ever hosting of a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the region.
Tahiti will play host to top teams from all over the globe in a statement that the Pacific is well and truly adopting the code that was introduced formally less than a decade ago.
It will also be the first time two Oceania countries will play in the same FIFA World Cup tournament as the Tiki Toa, Tahiti’s national side, have qualified as hosts of the event and will be joined by the team who comes out victorious in the OFC Beach Soccer Championship, also to be staged in Tahiti.
The Bilikiki had dominated beach soccer in the region for five years before they were dethroned by the Tiki Toa in Tahiti in 2011.
Further rattling the Bilikiki’s confidence is Vanuatu, who last year won an Asia-Pacific beach soccer invitation tournament in Gold Coast, Australia.
With several teams nipping at their heels, the side will now be looking to restore some of the past glory of the Solomon Islands this year.
The OFC Beach Soccer Championship will take place in Papeete, Tahiti, from June 12 to 14.
For more on Solomon Islands football go to www.siff.com.sb

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