Belarusian Beach Soccer Paradox Belarus is a country without access to the sea. Its largest water bodies are rivers and lakes, but not salty waves. Beach soccer in Belarus? Absurd? However, the Belarusian beach soccer team is one of the strongest in Europe and the world. It regularly reaches the final stages of European and world championships, defeating traditional favorites - the Portuguese, Spanish, Italians. How did a country where snow lies for half a year and there are almost no sandy beaches achieve such success? A paradox, but it has an explanation. No sea, but there is sand Belarusians do not wait for favors from nature. They build artificial sand fields for training. The first such field appeared in Minsk on the Dynamo stadium (now not in use). Then they built a specialized center in Borovaya (suburb of Minsk) with a covered arena and an open field. There, sand is brought from quarries, sifted, moistened. Training can be done year-round, despite the cold (the temperature in the covered arena is kept positive). By 2026, there will be 5 sand fields in Belarus: in Minsk, Homel, Brest, Grodno, Vitebsk. This is enough for development. System: from children to professionals The Belarusian Beach Soccer Federation, led by the chairman (former football player Sergey Borovsky), has bet on systematicity. They have created children's academies: in Minsk, Homel, Brest. Children start playing beach soccer from 8 years old, combining it with classic football or futsal. Republic-wide tournaments are held among young people (U-14, U-16, U-18). The best ones get into the reserve team. The senior national team is composed of players who have passed this school. The coach of the national team (Nikolai Vitykovsky) works with the team for years, ensuring teamwork. Tactics and style: Belarusian wing Unlike the Brazilians, who rely on dribbling, Belarusians play a strong, disciplined beach soccer. Their style is high pressing, long passes to attackers, shots from ... Читать далее