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Beach stadium ready for action
19/03/2008 12:44 - (SA)
Durban - The state-of-the-art beach soccer stadium that has sprung up on the New Beach Precinct on the southern end of Durban's golden mile, will be completed on Thursday ahead of the start of next week's Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 Qualifier.
The first of the teams will be arriving in Durban at the weekend ahead of the official practice day on Monday, and the start of the tournament on Tuesday.
The stadium will once again accommodate 3500 spectators, with a new section close to the pitch included this year to afford prime seats to the hundreds of youngsters taking part in the Ilanga development programme that precedes the tournament.
The stadium will also provide facilities for the fans unable to secure seats in the stadium, to allow them to watch all the action on a big screen erected facing the grass banks outside the stadium.
The stadium has received widespread acclaim, and in some cases has been recognised as the best beach soccer facility in the world, eclipsing the facilities at the fabled Copacabana beach in Rio that played host to the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup last year.
The event starts on Tuesday at 11:00, and admission is free to the first 3500 spectators. The tournament features the top eight African beach soccer playing nations South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Mozambique (all in Pool A), and the defending champions Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Cape Verde (in Pool B).
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