Write-up from Sport 360: “Brazilians Display Silky Samba Skills in Dubai” by Reem Abulleil

Brazilian teams stole the show at the Footvolley World Cup UAE 2011 yesterday, stunning the crowds with some mind-blowing skills at Jumeirah Beach Residence.

The sport which combines both football and volleyball originated from the beaches of Brazil and it’s no surprise they came to Dubai with nine teams in total, five men’s and four women’s.

The day started with group stage matches that were left over from Thursday, before things heated up in the last 16.

All five men’s teams from Brazil were placed in one group, which meant that Group A saw the hottest matches of the tournament. Brazil1 and Brazil2 advanced to the last-16 before they dominated in their matches against Netherlands1 and England2.

Both Brazilian teams will face-off again in the quarter-finals today.

“It’s always very tough to face another Brazilian team,” said Brazil1 star Piao. “But we are looking forward to a good match and we are hoping to give the crowd another entertaining match.”

The ladies of Brazil wowed the audience with two exhibition matches, and one of the contestants, Vanessinha, who has been playing footvolley for 11 years, said she was amazed by the reaction from the stands and how far the sport has come.

She said: “It’s so amazing to see footvolley here, and seeing people watching with surprised eyes. It makes me feel really happy because footvolley was created in Rio and now to see it being played here in Dubai by all these people, it’s just great.”

The tightest affair of the day was between Paraguay1 and Portugal2, where Paraguayans Victor and Oddi pulled off a terrific comeback to win 23-21 and book themselves a quarter-final spot against their compatriots Jesus and Quicho (Paraguay2), who beat Netherlands2.

“The tournament is number one, it’s very special,” said Victor. The UAE team comprising of Jamal Seif – also the tournament director – and Mohammed Rashed Al Sewedy had lost all their group stage matches the previous day to Spain, Norway and Uruguay, but Seif said he finds solace in the fact that the tournament has proven a big hit amongst both the players and the spectators.

“I would like to apologise for our level in the matches, but if we are talking about the level of organisation, we have done a fantastic job.

“The feedback has been great and the players and their teams explicitly told us that this is the best footvolley event they have attended across the world,” said Seif.

The UAE team is ranked 11th in the world and have won some impressive matches prior to the World Cup but unfortunately could not replicate that form in Dubai.

Alongside the FootVolley World Cup, DUPLAYS organized a 2 day beach volleyball tournament – JBR Beach Sport Fest. Enjoy these photos of the action:

DUPLAYS handled everything from planning, ticketing, and promotion to setup, manpower, event day management. Want DUPLAYS involved in your next large scale event? Contact us at info@duplays.com.

Enjoy these photos and videos from the game below:

Want to organize a unique, sport-filled fun day for your company? Contact corporate@duplays.com for event ideas and packages.

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The full episode from Dubai One is available here: Episode 18 – Winter Wonderland

Play sport. Be social. DUPLAYS.com

The full video from DubaiOne TV is here: http://bit.ly/dxb1DUPLAYS

Joining a sport league is easy! Visit DUPLAYS.com homepage for Dubai or for Abu Dhabi.  Then you just need to 1) register on the site, 2) sign up for your sport, and 3) we take care of the rest — you’re ready to play!

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Indoor Volleyball by DUPLAYS in Dubai, UAE. Video segment aired on “Sport on 7″ on City 7 TV in July, 2009. Host Graham Clews gets on the court to interview some players and co-founder Derv Rao.

Play Sport. Be Social. DUPLAYS.com

Women’s Basketball by DUPLAYS in Dubai, UAE. Video segment aired on “Sport on 7″ on City 7 TV in July, 2009. Host Graham Clews interviews some female players court side and gets some great action footage from the games.

Play women’s basketball in Dubai or in Abu Dhabi — sign up here!

Play Sport. Be Social.  DUPLAYS.com