The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

After the final whistle was blown to crown Brazil as champions and all of the awards handed out, Bahamas Football Association president Anton Sealey breathed a sigh of relief.

The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 was in the books. It came to a successful conclusion on Sunday night in the newly constructed beach soccer stadium at Malcolm Park.

“I thought we had a tremendous 10 days of exciting competition,” said Sealey in the aftermath of the tournament. “The final was not as close as we would have liked to see.

“But there was still some good football played. Brazil was and is the class of the tournament. They displayed an excellent brand of beach soccer. For those Bahamians who never saw the game before, it couldn’t be introduced to a higher level of competition. So I hope they appreciate what they saw.”

In the end, it was Brazil putting the finishing touches on a superb run through the tournament as they blanked Tahiti 6-0 to win their 14th title overall and their first since 2009. Iran finished as the bronze medallists with their 5-3 win over Italy.

By virtue of being the hosts, the Bahamas had a team entered and even though they didn’t advance out of the first round, they played in an exhibition game against an All-Star team. The Bahamas, however, lost that match 6-3 on Saturday night.

Following the hoisting of the winning trophy by Brazil, the curtains came down on the tournament with an after party that was held in the fan zone adjacent to the stadium.

“We couldn’t have been more pleased with the way the tournament progressed,” Sealey said. “The Local Organising Committee did a fantastic job, the volunteers really showed what the Bahamian spirit is all about.

“The important thing is the players, the coaches and the visitors all enjoyed the facility and their time spent in the Bahamas. When they’re happy, I’m happy.”

Sealey, whose federation got to host the CONCACAF Qualifier a month ago as a test to see how well they would be able to stage the World Cup, said he didn’t have any doubts that the Bahamas would have pulled it off.

“I thought as Bahamians, we have the capacity to do anything that we put our minds to,” Sealey stated. “Once I got the executive committee to buy into the idea of us hosting this event, we set about putting the necessary preparations in place.

“We selected a Local Organising Committee, which was first rate under chairman Jeffrey Beckles. He had great assistance along the way and when it was time to pull the volunteers, government agencies and the local sponsors together, it all worked so well together that this thing seemed so flawless, but we had our issues to work out.”

If presented the opportunity to duplicate the hosting of the tournament, Sealey said the BFA would welcome the opportunity with open arms.

“There are some things that we wouldn’t do or some things that we would do differently,” he said. “Don’t be surprised. We have the facility. So don’t be surprise if we do it gain or something else like this.

“We know that a World Cup doesn’t generally return to the same venue, but who knows? There’s always a first for everything. The Bahamas has been pioneers in so many things, why not back-to-back World Cups?”

While they wait on the final analyses from FIFA, Sealey said the BFA would prepare to host the Kalik Tournament over the Discovery Day weekend that will include the Bahamas and some of the teams that participated in the World Cup as well another regional tournament.

“This facility would be used and be used often,” he proclaimed.

The tournament also gave birth to the Bahamas men’s national beach soccer team, coached by Alexander Soares. Although the team lost its first two games – 3-2 to Switzerland and 10-1 to Senegal – they closed our play in Group A with 1 4-1 win over Ecuador for a 2-1 win-loss record.

Sealey gave the team a Grade A, based on where they came from and where Soares was able to get them to play at such a high level in just about six months.

“I would say the performance was an A and an A because there’s definitely room for improvement,” he stressed. “I think you will see that improvement.

“We got our relationship with the Brazilian coach very late in the day, just over three months, but what he was able to accomplish in three months was just remarkable. It’s mind boggling what could have happened if he had more than three months.”

With so much potential on the horizon, Sealey said the future looks bright for the Bahamas, not just as gracious hosts, but formidable opponents for whomever they face in beach soccer.

“We’ve now certainly entrenched ourselves as number one in beach soccer in the Caribbean and a force to be reckoned with in the region,” he stated.

“We were the only team in CONCACAF to have won a game in this competition. We finished ahead of Mexico and Panama, who are in our region. We did very well. So I’m very pleased with the efforts the guys put out.”

Prior to the tournament, the Bahamas was sitting in 47th spot in the 2016 world rankings with 287 points. Portugal topped the list as the defending champions 3,440 points.

But by virtue of winning the title, Brazil will move up from third with 2,995 points. The Bahamas is also expected to be pushed up a notch.