BY HOWARD WALKER, Staff Reporter
Beach football squad member Vincent Earle of Waterhouse (left) scoring past St. George's goalkeeper, Randal Hue, during the Red Stripe Light beach football tournament at Hellshire last year. - JUNIOR DOWIE
THIRTY-SEVEN PLAYERS have been named by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to start preparation for the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Tournament with the aim of qualifying for FIFA's Beach Soccer World Cup later this year.
Jamaica will open against Costa Rica on March 5 as the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Tournament kicks off in Brazil.
The Beach Soccer Committee along with technical director Wendell Downswell, met yesterday with the invitees to represent Jamaica.
Anthony 'Follies' Williams of Wadadah has been named as head coach with Constant Spring's Danny Lyn as his assistant.
Jamaica will compete against Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States with the top two teams qualifying for the second FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup later in 2006.
Below is a list of the invitees and their teams.
Gerald Neil, Jerry Walters and Kouri Pickersgill (Arnett Gardens); Codroy Martin, Dwayne Wanliss, Davian Wilson (Holland P.Y.C.); Jermaine Bailey, Michael Campbell, Andrew Wheeler (Boys' Town); Demar Phillips, Vincent Earle, Craig White (Waterhouse); Shawn Hunter, Daemion Benjamin, Jermaine Richards (Constant Spring); Moshel Nelson, Derrick Planter, Barrington Planter (Rivoli United); Orville Campbell, Gregory Simpson, Leon Strickland (Harbour View); Christopher Jackson, Nicholas McCreath, Oraine Simpson (Tivoli Gardens); Troy Smith, Nicardo Folkes, Newton Sterling, Elvis Hart, Fabian Dawkins (Village); Andre Reid, Rohan Reid (Wadadah); Fabian Blake, Keneil Moodie (Reno); Sheldon Palmer, Rohan McdDonald, Ryan Powell, Sheldon Brown (Portmore)
COMPLETE KICKOFF TIMES
CONCACAF unveiled this week the complete kickoff times for the inaugural CONCACAF Beach Soccer Tournament, alongside South America's (CONMEBOL) six-team Beach Soccer event which will take place from March 5-9 in Macae, Brazil, which is 180 km north of Rio de Janeiro.
Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico and U.S.A. will compete in the CONCACAF event, while Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and a sixth South American team, yet to be confirmed, will take part in CONMEBOL's group.
On March 6, Jamaica will play Canada, then Mexico the following day before taking on Cayman and the U.S.A. on March 8 and 9 respectively.
The top two from each confederation's group (CONCACAF and CONMEBOL) will not only progress to the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, but will also claim a place in the tournament's semi-finals where they will compete for a spot in the final which will crown an overall champion for the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL event on March 12.
The 16-team FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup this year is the second tournament to be held. The inaugural event took place in May 2005 at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in which France won.
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