Puerto Vallarta to host major beach soccer event

The popular Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta will host the 2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, scheduled to take place from 13-19 May.

The 2019 edition of the biannual Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) event, which will be held with the support of the Municipal Government of Puerto Vallarta, and feature the 16 best national beach soccer teams in the region.

The teams taking place are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States and US Virgin Islands.

The two best-ranked teams in the competition will also ensure qualification for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Paraguay 2019.

The beach soccer tournament will take place right next to the actual beach in Puerto Vallarta

Philippe Moggio, Concacaf’s general secretary, said: “We are very excited to bring the seventh edition of the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship to Puerto Vallarta.

“This will be the fourth time that this great destination stages a top tournament that serves as springboard for Beach Soccer development, while providing fans with an opportunity to witness the passion, dynamic style and outstanding performances of the best from our region.”

Yon de Luisa, president of the Mexican Football Federation, added: “Bringing a World Cup qualifying competition to Mexico is very relevant, in many aspects, including the support to our local teams, the promotion of a tourist destination that offers great attractions such as Puerto Vallarta and this modality of the most popular sport in our country, without leaving aside the economic benefits and the quality of the sport that promotes healthy coexistence among Mexican families.”

In the last edition of the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship in the Bahamas, Panama overcame Mexico in the final, to win its first Beach Soccer title.