TV Distribution

For the first time in football history the world’s best beach soccer players from the top 12 national teams will meet on the beaches of Rio to determine the winners of the ultimate prize in the Beach Soccer calendar – the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.   FIFA is convinced that Beach Soccer is and will increasingly become an important and attractive part of the sport of football, and is committed to developing this exciting new sport to the next level in terms of quality, recognition and prominence.

As host and reigning champion, the Brazilian national team, will welcome the 11 other contenders to the Copacabana Beach Soccer stadium for a week of high-scoring, fan-friendly and spectacular athletic action – on average a goal is scored every 3 minutes!

Tournament Schedule
o Competition begins on Sunday May 8th, 2005 and ends on Sunday, May 15th, 2005
o 20 matches in total

Participating Teams
o Group A – Brazil, Thailand, and European Team* (tbc)
o Group B – Portugal, USA, and Japan
o Group C – Uruguay, Ukraine, and South Africa
o Group D – France, Argentina, and Australia
*final spot to be decided in play-off between Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Austria

Tournament Format
o 4 groups of 3 teams (as above) participate in round-robin preliminary round
o Top 8 teams advance to quarter-finals knock-out
o Winning semi-finalists advance to final; losing semi-finalists play 3rd/4th  place match

Game Format and Basic Rules
o 5 players per side (4 outfield players and 1 goalkeeper)
o 3 periods of 12 minutes  with a 3 minute break in between periods
o 10,000 seat capacity stadium on the beach with a 26m x 37m field of sand

Host Broadcasting information
o All matches will be offered live or as tape delay
o Highlights packages available after the final match on each match day
o Matches are formatted perfectly for one hour commercial programming

For further information regarding TV distribution, please contact:
Niclas Ericson, Head Broadcast & Media Rights – FIFA Marketing & TV AG
E-mail:niclas.ericson@fifa.org
or
Graeme White, Business Affairs Director, Broadcast & Media Rights – FIFA Marketing & TV AG
E-mail: graeme.white@fifa.org