Sunday 19 / May / 2024
Muscat: Defending champions Oman are drawn in a relatively easy group in the forthcoming AFC Beach Soccer Championship.
The draw for the 2017 edition of the Asian championship was conducted in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, when title holders Oman were placed in Group B along with Lebanon, Uzbekistan and Thailand.
According to the information received from the Oman Football Association (OFA), a total of 13 teams will be competing for the top honours in the Asian championship, which will be organised in Malaysia from March 4 to 11.
The tournament also serves as the qualifying event for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
Meanwhile, twice champions Japan, who were runners-up to Oman in the 2015 Asian championship, head Group C where they will be competing against the UAE, Iraq and Qatar.
The UAE have also laid their hands on the coveted trophy twice in the past.
There are five teams in Group A and they are Iran, Bahrain, China, Malaysia and Afghanistan.
The group winners and the best second-placed team from the three groups will qualify for the semifinals.
The opening day fixtures on March 4 will see China playing Bahrain and Afghanistan taking on Malaysia. The AFC is yet to release the complete list of fixtures.
The top three from the Asian event will make it to the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which will take place in Bahamas in April.
The Sultanate’s squad are currently undergoing a training camp, for which coach Talib Hilal Al Thanawi has called up two new players.
The four new players called up by Talib are Mohammed Al Siyabi, Awadh Al Yousefi, Nibras Al Sabri and Hussain Al Ajmi. The other players of the 14-member team that are attending the camp at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex are Haitham Shuwan, Yahya Al Araimi, Mishal Al Araimi, Jalal Al Sinani, Munther Al Araimi, Khalid al Araimi, Amjad Al Hamdani, Abdullah Al Balushi, Sharif Al Balushi and Noah Al Zedjali.
AFC Beach Soccer Championship groups:
Group A: Iran, Bahrain, China PR, Malaysia, Afghanistan.
Group B: Oman, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Thailand.
Group C: Japan, UAE, Iraq, Qatar.
