T&T’s Beach Soccer Association president Kyle Lequay believes this country could make a strong claim for a place at the 2015 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in Portugal later this year.
Lequay was in El Salvador for the Concacaf qualifying draw earlier on Monday which saw T&T being pitted in Group B alongside Mexico, Guadeloupe and Turks & Caicos.
Group A of the 16-team four-team per group qualifiers features host El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Belize and Jamaica; Group C comprises USA, Bahamas, Barbados and Antigua/Barbuda while Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and US Virgin Islands are in Group D.
At the end of the pool round-robin phase which runs from March 28 to March 31, the top two teams in each group will advance to the main draw knockout quarterfinals on April 2, then onto the semifinals and final on April 3 and 4 respectively
The top two sides at the Concacaf qualifying event will represent their region at Espinho, Portugal 2015, July 9-19.
Commenting on the draw in El Salvador, Lequay said, “I think the experience of the last tournament where we were able to get wins against the likes of Canada, will put us in a much better position this time around.
We have players who have experienced what it is to play at the Concacaf level and their desire is very strong. We have a few weeks to prepare the team and we’ll be aiming to give it our best shot,” Lequay said.
The T&T beach soccer is one of the T&T Football Association’s (TTFA) national teams.
•Two-time world champions Russia, Spain, Italy and Switzerland have qualified from Europe.
2015 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship
March 28—April, El Salvador:
Venue:
Saturday March 28:
Bahamas vs Barbados
T&T vs Guadeloupe
Jamaica vs Puerto Rico
Antigua & Barbuda vs USA
Turks & Caicos vs Mexico
Belize vs El Salvador
Sunday March 29:
Guatemala vs Panama
T&T vs Turks & Caicos
Jamaica vs Belize
US Virgin Islands vs Costa Rica
Mexico vs Guadeloupe
El Salvador vs Puerto Rico
Monday March 30:
Guatemala vs US Virgin Islands
Bahamas vs Antigua & Barbuda
Puerto Rico vs Belize
Costa Rica vs Panama
USA vs Barbados
El Salvador vs Jamaica
Tuesday March 31:
Panama vs US Virgin Islands
Barbados vs Antigua & Barbuda
Guadeloupe vs Turks & Caicos
Costa Rica vs Guatemala
USA vs Bahamas
Mexico vs T&T
Thursday April 2:
Quarterfinals:
1 D vs 2 B
1 C vs 2 A
1 B vs 2 D
1 A vs 2 C
Friday April 3:
Quarterfinals losers semifinals
Quarterfinal winners semifinals
Saturday April 4:
Seventh spot playoff
Sixth spot playoff