The competition on the beaches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Host City will be the first of six qualifying events in all confederations, culminating in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2007 from 2 to 11 November 2007.
The final competition will see the top 16 teams battle it out on the sands of the Copacabana beach, possibly for the last time. In 2008, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup will leave its birthplace and will be hosted for the first time elsewhere, the host country yet to be decided. Ecuador, France, Mauritius, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are bidding to stage either the 2008 or the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The qualifying format remains the same as last year, but the enlarged field of 47 participating teams reflects the increasing interest in this latest addition to the FIFA calendar. Brazil, unlike in previous years, will not participate in the qualifiers as they have automatically qualified as the hosts of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
From 4 to 8 July, eight teams including hosts South Africa and newcomers Mozambique and Senegal will play for two African berths at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2007.
The Nigerian team is presently sweating it out on the beach in Badagry in readiness for the tourney.
NIgeria placed second at the inaugural edition in South Africa losing to Cameroun in the final.