Watch in awe on January 24 and 25 as 24 professional Footvolley players compete on the sands of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea during the 2015 Pro Footvolley Tour Invitational. For two days these extremely competitive players will come together to form teams in what are destined to be once in a lifetime match-ups.
The competition takes place at the town’s El Prado Park, located at 4500 El Mar Dr. and begins with group play from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 24 and quarterfinals, semi-finals and the highly-anticipated championship match from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 25.
Considered the world’s premiere touring series of Footvolley, the tournament features the top 20 pro teams in the United States with guest foreign teams and it puts the town in the national and international spotlight, given it is broadcast to millions of viewers on cable television.
“Going to Lauderdale-By-The-Sea has always been something we’ve wanted to do, it was just difficult because of the other events we hosted in Broward County,” said Sergio Menezes, USA Captain and event organizer. “But given this is a vacation spot from other places, coming here we knew we had hit paradise, it’s how you feel when you visit. This is just an amazing place to hold an event and we couldn’t be more excited.”
The sport is a combination of beach volleyball with only soccer touches which means hands are not permitted during play making for a thrilling and fast-paced match. The sport is often used by top soccer clubs to help further develop players’ ball-handling skills.
In the field of players is Cristian Vieri, the former World Cup Soccer star considered one of the top 10 strikers to ever play who will make his footvolley debut for the first time representing Italy.
Some of the top teams competing are the United States, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia and Italy. There are several anticipated possible pairings that could make the tournament one-of-a-kind for spectators to experience.
Brazil’s current champions Fernando “Model” Plentz and Adrian “The Monster” Boente are the team to beat, and going for their third consecutive win in this tournament. They are crowd favorites given they are consistent winners at all the tournaments they enter.
Also competing are the USA’s #1 Squad Luke “The Rock” Roque from Coconut Creek and Karl Menghisso from Delray Beach two 24-year-olds who have dominated the tour since 2011. Following close behind as the number two team are the USA’s Captain Sergio Menezes and his partner Romulo Nobreiga.
“I am excited about the 2015 Tour because we have fantastic athletes including my partner Romulo Nobreiga. It is a great honor to represent the United States. We have the hottest sport in America right now and I am just fortunate to have so many great athletes competing,” said Menezes.
