Canada in Group A at CONCACAF Beach Soccer

Canada has been drawn into Group A of the 2010 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship. Canada will face El Salvador, Mexico and Jamaica in group action while USA, Costa Rica, Bahamas and Guatemala will do battle in the opposite group. The 2010 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship runs 1-5 December in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and will be streamed live on CONCACAF TV.

Canada has a tough group, with reigning champion El Salvador and host Mexico the two favouries. Canada has performed well in CONCACAF before, most notably finishing second overall before going on to reach the quarter-final stage of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio 2006 before losing to eventual champions Brazil.

"We are extremely excited to be representing Canada," said national coach Ross Ongaro. "Mexico and El Salvador are CONCACAF super powers in Beach Soccer. Their commitment to the game is second to none. Getting out of the group phase will be a great achievement."

Canada’s three group matches are 1 December against El Salvador (13.30 local kick off), 2 December against Mexico (16.00) and 3 December against Jamaica (13.30).

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-final stage. The semi-final matches are played on 4 December at 14.45 and 16.00. One day later, the match for third place kicks off at 14.45 and the championship final kicks off at 16.00.

Next year’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup will be played in Italy.