"The Azerbaijan Superleague in beach soccer was more successful in terms of organization than anticipated."
Idman.biz reports that this was stated by Rufat Hasanov, manager of the Beach Soccer Federation, in an interview with Report.
He noted that there was considerable spectator interest: "The organization exceeded our expectations. The audience’s interest was also high. We arranged live broadcasts of the matches online. A large audience followed the matches live."
The federation official said that some players participating in the tournament will be invited to the national team: "Six teams formed mainly from players competing in the First League, minifootball, and AFFA Regional League participated in the national championship. Almost every team had players who have played or been called up to the beach soccer national team training camps. The main competition was between VTB and Marathon teams. The champion was decided in the last round. VTB won against their rival with a score of 7:4. Chinar Zangilan took third place. Some new players also appeared on the field. They will be invited to the national team training camps going forward."
He also reminded that the national champion and the runner-up will compete in European club competitions: "The national champion will represent Azerbaijan in the Euro Winners Cup, where champions of European countries’ beach soccer leagues compete. Marathon qualified for the Challenge Cup, which is considered the playoff stage of this competition."
In the final round of the Superleague, VTB Bank became the national champion by defeating Marathon 7:4. Marathon finished second in the tournament. Chinar Zangilan won the bronze medal by defeating Dirchelish 5:4.
Idman.biz
