FIFA is launching its first ever beach soccer World Cup this year, world football's governing body said Tuesday.

Twelve countries are expected to compete in the first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which is likely to take place in Brazil later in 2005.

The barefoot five-a-side game on a compact sand pitch has attracted flamboyant stars from the past such as Eric Cantona and Romario to the championship organised by the Beach Soccer World Wide federation since 1994.

The emphasis on one-touch skill and accompanying seaside glamour has also drawn younger crowds. FIFA is convinced that beach soccer "is and will increasingly become an important part ofthe sport of football."

A new FIFA subsidiary is being set up in Barcelona, Spain, to work alongside the existing beach soccer federation.

After becoming professional in the 1990s, the first big televised beach soccer event was held on Rio de Janeiro's legendary Copacabana beach and the game now draws top line corporate sponsorship.

Source: Xinhua