DOHA — Hours before the final of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 – AFC Qualifiers, the beach soccer teams of FC Barcelona and AC Milan will square off at Katara Beach. Barcelona and Milan will arrive in Doha on Jan. 24 and will train at Katara the next morning. Training sessions will be open to media, and a mixed zone will be open after the training sessions. Nasser Al-Khater, Vice Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, is eager to welcome the European giant to Qatar: “We look forward to having two of Europe's best beach soccer teams square off at Katara during the Asian qualifying rounds. “We are positive this will be an exciting match-up. Best of luck to both clubs,” the Qatari official added. The friendly match between the Catalan and Italian sides will be held Saturday evening, Jan. 26. As with the FIFA Beach Soccer AFC Qualifiers, entry to the FC Barcelona vs. AC Milan beach soccer friendly will be free of charge. Ramiro Amarelle, one of the best beach soccer players, will lead Barcelona. The team will field three world champions – Egor Eremeeey, Dimitry Shishin and Andriy Buklhitskiy, voted best goalkeeper in the world during the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2011. Barcelona has twice reached the quarterfinals of the Mundialito de Clubes, a club beach soccer tournament held in Brazil, in 2011 and 2012. AC Milan's prowess rests on the magic of two key players from the Swiss National Side – Dejan Stankovic and Stephan Meier - who are supported by the backbone of the Italian Beach Soccer National Team – Paolo Palmacci, Stefano Spada and Simone Feudi. Emiliano Del Duca's AC Milan reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 Mundalito de Clubes. — SG
