Agence France Presse

Zurich, February 1:

FIFA said on Tuesday it plans to launch a beach soccer World Cup, with the first edition of the tournament likely to be held in Brazil in May.

FIFA said it was taking over running the international to-urnament, steered since 1994 by Beach Soccer World Wide with FIFA’s endorsement but without its direct involvement. Under an accord between the two organisations, FIFA has created a subsidiary known as FIFA Beach Soccer SL with offices in Barcelona. It will organise an annual beach soccer World Cup and work to develop the game worldwide. “Beach soccer is an immensely attractive and exciting variation of association football. Since being introduced just over a decade ago, the sport has grown steadily in terms of popularity,” said FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Twelve nations are expected to take part.