Beach soccer championship of Lithuania starting in Birštonas on Saturday

2024-06-06 10:40 © lff.lt

On Saturday in Birštonas, the 2024 STIKLITA Lithuanian Beach Soccer Championship will kick off, where sixteen teams will compete for the title. The defending champions will be Vilnius IGOL, the championship will take place in three stages, and the champions will be revealed at the beginning of August.

Just like last year, the teams will play the regular season in a round-robin format, after which two teams will advance straight to the semifinals. The teams finishing in 3rd to 6th place will start the knockout stage from the quarterfinals.

Vilnius IGOL

Multiple-time champions of the national beach soccer championships are welcoming the new season with many unanswered questions. Will Mantas Makutunovičius, who has traveled across Europe and has been voted the best player in the championship multiple times, help the team? Who will replace Jonas Lebedevas, who has moved to Panevėžys?

"These years for the club are transitional. We will have many new players, many young players, there are players who will make their debut on the sand. It is difficult to predict how they will adapt and how they will perform."

"Of course, we do not raise the white flag and we have a goal - to defend the title again, but we understand that it will be very difficult. On the other hand, when was it easy?" rhetorically asked the club leader, one of the team's leaders Vasilijus Novičkovas.

Mažeikiai „Olimpo SC“

In recent years, the Mažeikiai, who constantly changed their strategy and vision, remained far from the leaders and constantly fought not to be last. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes not. This year, „Olimpas“ once again welcomes a changed strategy and team composition.

"Last year, we tried to compete with older players, with our stars, but it didn't work. This year, we refreshed, rejuvenated, and hope that it will work out better. We do not set specific goals - for many years, our main task has been to participate," said the team leader Donatas Voras.

The team promises a tough choice in Birštonas but promises to bounce back in the second stage of the championship.

Panevėžio rajono „Dembava“

„Dembava“ has already achieved one important goal before the start of the championship. A new beach football field was opened in Panevėžys, where „Dembava“ has already started the training process, and last weekend organized a tournament with four teams, which also included the hosts.

Close to winning the highest awards last year, the „Dembava“ players remember well that their path was blocked by a red card received by the goalkeeper. This year, the team promises not to repeat such mistakes.

"Every year we want to climb at least one step higher. We were fourth, we were third, now we would like to be at least second. The core of the team has remained, so I see no reason why we should be far from this goal," said the „Dembava“ leader Saulius Dambrauskas.

Kupiškio „Narjanta“

Last year, the Kupiškis „Narjanta“ team, which was left out of the top three winners, is ready to move forward this year and finish the championship with top-quality medals. They will be helped by Elvinas Ališauskas, who joined the team alongside the national team players Redas Graičiūnas and Modestas Petrauskas.

"As always, we start the season fighting and, naturally, we expect good results. Every year we add one or two new players, we have a good training process, and we will try to become champions. How long can we be second, third, or fourth?" rhetorically asked the „Narjanta“ leader Darius Baronas.

PFK „Panevėžys“

The newly formed „Panevėžys“ team, whose first signing is Jonas Lebedevas from IGOL. He will be both the coach and the main player of the team. Along with J. Lebedevas, goalkeeper Lukas Drąsutis and a few foreign players from Brazil have arrived.

"The main reason for our joining is the increased attention to beach soccer. We believe that in this way we will find a player who will try the football pitch and later will be useful for all Lithuanian football.

For now, we don't think about results. The main task is to play. And then we'll see," said the club founder Egidijus Briedis.

BSC „Kaunas“

Another newcomer, who will replace many of the national team players who have united and constantly occupied prize-winning positions in the „Aleksotas“. Furthermore, the team will be led by the new head coach of the national team Aivaras Meškinis.

"I haven't played on the sand for a long time, but last weekend I took to the field and did pretty well. So I will try to play and lead. We will have a good team, so, of course, we all want to perform as well as possible," said A. Meškinis about the new challenge.

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The second stage of the championship will be organized in Kupiškis on July 20, and the third - on August 3 in Velžys. This is where this year's national beach soccer champions will be determined.