Winners of the 2011 Swalings Beach Soccer Tournament, Potters Tigers, following their victory last year. (Photo courtesy Swalings)
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Sixteen teams will compete for the main prise of EC $2,000 when Swalings hosts its Third Annual Beach Soccer Tournament slated for June 10 at Millers by the Sea.
Chief organiser of the event, Duncan Swatton, expressed eagerness at getting this year’s tournament started and gave reasons why he opted to jump-start such a venture.
“I created the tournament for a number of reasons, one being its uniqueness. There are lots of tournaments and competitions happening out on the field which is great as it’s building football talent in Antigua; but I wanted people on the beach playing organised football and having fun,” he said.
“Another reason is that beach football is big in the rest of the world. There are tournaments almost every weekend. There are club teams, international teams, and I would love Antiguans be a part of that international scene so we can have some teams go to these competitions.”
Swatton, a football coach at Swalings, added that the beach version of the competition presents footballers here with new challenges, as the game is much different when playing on sand.
“Football on the sand is really a different skill. The ball bounces everywhere, and in past tournaments we have seen some very creative goals because of it: bicycle kicks, flying volleys and lots of other styles, which is another reason for me initiating the Swalings Beach Soccer Tournament,” he added.
“I want people to come, express new ways to play football and try something new that they might not on a football pitch and most importantly have fun doing it.”
The competition will be played in Champion League format which would ensure that each team plays a minimum of six games before going through to the quarter final round.
The successful teams play the semi-final or the third and fourth place play-off, and then the semi-finalists play the final. Teams wishing to register may call 726-2535.
