Twenty-four teams will grace the sands of Benidorm from 11 May to fight for European supremacy and four berths at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Marseille 2008, which will take place between 17 and 27 July. The participants have been drawn into six four-team groups, with the top two in each − plus the four best third-placed finishers − advancing to the last 16. The four semi-finalists will qualify for Marseille 2008.

Spain, on home sand, will be among the favourites for gold, with the brilliant Ramiro Amarelle their chief attraction. «The sport of Beach Soccer is developing at high speed and the games are getting more unpredictable. Every year, it becomes more unlikely to win every game even against opponents who have less experience then Spain», − said Amarelle.

«Some of the teams are present for the first time in their history and for them it's a unique chance to qualify for a World Cup stage. All these teams will be very motivated to show Europe what they can do and we'll have to make sure we're prepared for this. Playing at home is a big motivation, but also a big responsibility.

«It's up to us not to underestimate any of our opponents and work hard to make this campaign a big success. We will be ready and hope the Spanish people will be behind us all the way, they also will play a big role in either we'll be successful or not», he added. All eyes will also be on the son of the legendary Diego Armando Maradona, also called Diego and Italy's No10.

Portugal will be present to defend their crown, while eight sides will be making their debut at the European showpiece. With such a healthy mix, an exciting tournament ensues.

The Groups
Group A: SPAIN, GERMANY, ROMANIA *, BELARUS *
Group B: RUSSIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, HOLLAND, LATVIA *
Group C: ITALY, NORWAY, GREECE, AZERBAIJAN *
Group D: PORTUGAL, ENGLAND, ESTONIA, GEORGIA *
Group E: POLAND, UKRAINE, ANDORRA *, SLOVAKIA *
Group F: SWITZERLAND, HUNGARY, AUSTRIA, LITHUANIA *

* Team present for the first time at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifier