BAHRAIN’s Beach Football National Team stepped up their preparations to face Egypt’s Beach Football National Team today at the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) field in Riffa.
The Egyptians arrived in the kingdom two days ago and have taken part in two training sessions prior to the game today which starts at 6pm.
The teams will play two friendlies against each other with the first taking place today and the second to be played at the same venue and time on Thursday.
The Egyptian team brought along with them former Zamalek captain and Egypt’s National Team goalkeeper Abdulwahed Al Sayed.
Al Sayed is part of the team in more of an iconic role as the Egyptian Football Association strives to get the local media’s attention on the team.
The BFA recently put up a plan to develop Beach Football as it set up league and cup competitions for the sport.
The competitions will run from this month up until September and will be played at the sand fields of the BFA.
The friendly matches against their Egyptian opponents come at a time when Bahrain Beach Football’s Portuguese coach Joao Almeida prepares the team for their upcoming participations in the Asia Super Cup in China in August and the Asian Beach Games which takes place in Vietnam in September.
The two friendly matches have been registered as official games in the Asian and African federations, and hence their results will have an impact on the team’s world rankings.
The Egyptian team’s training sessions have seen a large number of fans attend. They have voiced their disappointment over the unavailability of a spectators’ stand at the venue.
The BFA will have to look into moving a portable stand for the matches as many fans are expected to attend.