The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With the 2,500 seats for the fans erected, all that’s left is the VIP stand, press centre and the actual beach soccer pitch and the Bahamas Football Association will be prepared to take on the world.

The local organising committee for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 took the media on a tour of the new $2.5 million facility being constructed at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge.

The tour took place on the 100-day countdown to the FIFA Beach World Cup, scheduled for April 27 to May 7.  In preparation for the prestigious event, the BBF will host the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier February 20-27.

A total of 16 teams from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands - North America: Canada, Mexico, United States - Central American Football Union (UNCAF): Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama, are expected to participate in the CONCACAF tournament.

From the tournament, two additional CONCACAF teams will join the Bahamas as the three CONCACAF representatives in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.

“This countdown is a significant part of our efforts towards this event,” said Jeff Beckles, the chairman of the LOC. “We are well on our way to having this facility completed for April 20-27.”

Over the past several months, Beckles said a number of companies have partnered with the BBF, the Bahamas Government and FIFA in erecting what is going to be the most impressive state of the art facility in the region.

“We want to say thank you to all of the agencies, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Bahamas Customs and obviously to our construction partners, Cavalier Construction, IBS Engineering, who have been playing tan integral role in ensuring that we get to this point,” Beckles stressed.

“So as we launch this official countdown, we want to encourage Team Bahamas who is actually in Argentina as we speak, preparing for the World Cup. We want to say to the wider Team Bahamas, all of us who live in this wonderful country we call home to get ready for this event coming up.”

While the construction continues at the site, Team Bahamas is currently on the roadas they are scheduled to play a few matches in Paraguay before they head to Argentina to play Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay.

BBF president Anton Sealey said he’s pleased to see that the construction of the new facility is going to be on time for their test run at the CONCACAF Qualifier next month and the main event at the FIFA World Cup in April.

“Cavalier has just been exceptional. The workforce and the energy and passion in which they have embraced this project, which is a very aggressive one, is quite extra ordinary,” Sealey said.

When most people took the time of during the Christmas holiday, Sealey said Cavalier remained on the job to ensure that the stadium is completed on time.

Martin Todd, Vice President of Cavalier Construction, said the VIP is already out of the ground and they’re just working on the infrastructure, which will include the Media Center, will complete the facility and all that is left is to put down the playing surface.

“In the next two weeks, the pitch should be installed and we’re all looking forward to getting ready for the CONCACAF Qualifier at the end of February,” he stated.

Burce LaFleur, another Vice President of the BFA, took the media on the tour, overlooking the construction of the soccer pitch from the top of the spectator stand.

When asked if there was any particular seating area that he would prefer to sit in the huge facility, LaFleur quickly pointed out that he and his friends sat up top and they were quite impressed with the view they saw.

Once the soccer pitch is completed, LaFleur said it will be quite a site to behold.