Rio 2016 Olympic Chief Wants Beach Soccer in Games

(ATR) Rio 2016 president Carlos Nuzman tells Around the Rings that if the IOC approves the addition of beach soccer to the Olympic program, the discipline would be one of the highlights of the Games.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Brazil 2014 chief Ricardo Teixeira proposed the inclusion of the popular Brazilian pastime in the Games when they met with Nuzman ahead of the World Cup qualifying draw in Rio on July 30.

Blatter attended a charity beach soccer match that day between Brazil and Japan.

Teixeira is head of FIFA's Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee and keen to grow the sport worldwide.

Nuzman welcomed the idea and said he was favorable to the inclusion of the discipline if FIFA can win IOC approval.

"It's a great idea. If realized, I'm sure that football and the fans only can win, and that beach soccer will be one of the biggest attractions in Rio 2016," Nuzman told ATR.

The Olympic program will be reviewed after the London 2012 Games. During the evaluation process by the IOC's program commission, beach soccer could be considered for inclusion at Rio 2016. Should the discipline gain IOC Executive Board approval, it would then go to a vote at the IOC Session convening in Buenos Aires in2013.

Despite Blatter's discussions with Nuzman, no proposal has yet been made to the IOC.

"We have not received any formal request from FIFA regarding beach football," an IOC spokesperson told ATR.

A proposal to take the idea to the IOC may go before the Oct. 20-21 FIFA Executive Committeemeeting in Zurich.

FIFA will stage its next Beach Soccer World Cup in Ravenna, Italy from Sept. 1 to 11.

World football's governing body has spent recent months raising the sport's profile. Over the summer, a total of 12 training courses were held across five confederations, while the 2011 Euro Beach Soccer League also attracted strong crowds at host cities across Europe, including Bern, Berlin, Ravenna and Moscow.

The 2011 Beach Soccer World Cup is the sixth edition of the tournament to be overseen by FIFA since the sport became part of the federation's family.

Reported by Mark Bisson