The draw for the sixth edition of the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup took place in Dubai on Tuesday, with OFC side Tahiti among the teams to find out their fate.

Running from 1-5 November, the competition is one of the most prestigious in the sport’s calendar, with some of the best teams from each continent going head-to-head for the title, which the Tiki Toa narrowly missed out on in 2015 after going down 5-2 to Russia.

Runners-up at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, held in Portugal last year, Tahiti have been drawn against hosts UAE – ranked 13th in the world – in Group A along with four-time FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup winners Brazil and Poland, who recently sprung a surprise by qualifying for the World Cup in the Bahamas next year.

In the other pool are three-time competition winners Russia, who will go up against the USA, as well as Iran and Egypt – the latter two finishing third and fourth respectively last year.

“In the Dubai Sports Council, under the patronage and guidance of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, we are happy to see the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup grow and get stronger year after year,” Dubai Sports Council General Secretary Saeed Hared told guests at the draw.

“We have full trust in beach soccer as a discipline and we truly believe that it is a perfect match for Dubai. Now we have the exciting challenge of making this world-class event better and better each year.”

Beach Soccer Worldwide Executive Vice-President Joan Cusco also spoke at the draw, expressing his excitement to have the tournament held in Dubai.

“I would really like to thank HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and the whole Dubai Sports Council, once again, for their trust and commitment with the sport,” he said.

“For another year, Dubai becomes the centre of the beach soccer world. We are very happy that the story continues with the sixth edition of the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup – an event that everybody wants to take part in,” he added.

“The teams keep showing their interest in being a part of such a prestigious event, in such a wonderful place as Dubai, which we are proud to call our home”.

Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup 2016
Group A: UAE, Tahiti, Brazil, Poland
Group B: Russia, USA, Egypt, Iran

For more on Tahiti football go to www.ftf.pf