BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
LIKE most national sporting activities in the Solomon Islands, beach soccer has been on the sidelines for nearly five years, as the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a shutdown of the sports calendar in the country.
But beach soccer now returns this month for the first time with a planned championship coming up, according to the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF), Futsal and Beach Soccer Development Officer Dickson Kadau.
Dickson Kadau has recently taken up the role and responsibility as SIFF’s Futsal and Beach Soccer Development Officer Dickson Kadau and has confirmed the plan to host a beach soccer championship to select a final squad for the upcoming Oceania FIFA beach soccer World Cup 2023 qualifiers tournament in June.
“Over the past years, it’s quite difficult to continue with the beach soccer development in the country, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“However, at the moment we have initially started a five days theory and practical training at the Solomon Islands National Institute of Sports in Honiara and that is basically to prepare the Bilikiki beach soccer team for this year’s Oceania FIFA beach soccer World Cup 2023 qualifiers in Tahiti.
“Nevertheless, we would depend much on the Solomon Islands Football Federation’s (SIFF) Competition Department to identify the coordinators of beach soccer in the country, then we will host a beach soccer championship.
“The beach soccer championship is expected to kick off as early as possible because of the Oceania FIFA beach soccer World Cup 2023 qualifiers tournament in June,”
“We have to quickly organize a championship to select potential players to undergo a trial to prepare a national squad qualifiers tournament in June,’’ Dickson Kadau told RAW SPORTS.
Whilst the initial plan is now in progress to organize an upcoming championship to select potential players to undergo a trial to prepare a national squad for the upcoming Oceania FIFA beach soccer World Cup 2023 qualifiers tournament in June, Kadau said that so far most of the national beach soccer players are still scattered in the provinces. “We have most of our national beach soccer players who were stay scattered, from West, Makira, Isabel, while others joined the seasonal employment overseas,’’ he said.
