Next month La Noria beach in Sabinillas plays host to the 1st Manilva International Beach Football Festival which will be held over the weekend of the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of August.

The festival will be contested by teams of footballing legends from six countries, namely England, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Spain and Gibraltar. The action will be centred on a 3,000 seater stadium which will be set up on the beach with an adjoining ‘football village’ allong the promenade with numerous stalls, hospitality and refreshment stands, etc.

As well as the football there will also be a programme of fun and entertainment to make this a truly memorable event, which is being organised by Manilva Leisure SL, and EFPG Sportsguard Ltd, and headline sponsor Altraplan Luxembourg S.A. The main purpose of the festival is to raise funds for the chosen charity ‘Sun & Happiness’ who work to bring underprivileged and terminally ill children from the UK to Spain to enjoy a well deserved week in the Spanish sun.

Programme

This is the basic programme to which it is anticipated there will be a number of added attractions to be finalised over the coming weeks.

Friday 22nd August
Starting at 8.00 pm, the tented football village will be officially opened with refreshments and entertainment marking the opening of the football festival.

Saturday 23rd August
One game from each of the two groups will take place on the first morning, at 10.00 am and 11.00 am. 
Following a break from the midday sun, the second round of group games will kick off at 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm
The party atmosphere will continue into the evening in the tented village where there will be more entertainment and refreshments.

Sunday 24th August
The final round of group games takes place on sunday morning, again kicking off at 10.00 am and 11.00 am.  Come and watch the teams battle it out for places in the 3rd v 4th place play-off and grand final.
The final games take place on Sunday evening at the slightly later times of  7.00 pm and 8.00 pm, followed immediately afterwards by the prize giving ceremony on the pitch.
Following the conclusion of the football, the closing party will get into full swing in the adjoining village, with yet more refreshments and entertainment, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display to mark the end of the inaugural Altraplan Cup.

Come and rub shoulders with some of the all time greats of the game, cheer on your team, watch some of amazing entertainment acts, as you enjoy the wide range of food, drink and festivities and have a totally great time in the sun in what will be the biggest sporting event on the coast for 2008.

Already confirmed are the following players:
England - Alan Kennedy, Derek Statham, Des Walker, Gary Stevens, John Beresford, Ruel Adrian Fox, Rob Lee.
Sweden - Martin Dahlin, Andreas Jacobsson, Tomas Brolin, Anders Limpar, Magnus Hedman, Pontus Kamark, Kari Juhani "Gary" Sundgren, Stefan Schwartz.
Denmark - Thomas Helveg, Brian Steen Nielsen, Brian Laudrup, Marc Rieper, Michael Schjonberg, Peter Schmichel, Michael Laudrup.
Gibraltar -  Jerry Aguilera, Marvin Cartwright, Paul Lyon, Dennis Santos, Ian Payas, Frank Barton, Peter Moreno, Johnny Moreno, Anthony Sayers, Colin Ramirez, Mick McElwee, Francis Caruana, Ernest Gilbert, Chiqui Fava, Adrian Olivero, Michael Yome.
Netherlands - Paul Bosvelt, Silooy Jan Jacobus, Glenn Helder, Clyde Wijnhard.
Spain - Players yet to be confirmed.

The festival will be covered by a number of European TV channels including Sky Sports and will be of great value in promoting Manilva both in Spain and abroad.

Tickets for the event are 15 euros for each day and can be reserved by visiting the website www.manilvainternationalbeachfootballfestival.com where you can also find the latest up-to-the-minute festival information.

For full information see: http://www.manilvalife.com/manilva_beach_football.htm