Belt and Road International Beach Soccer tournament to be held in China's Haikou

HAIKOU, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 Belt and Road International Beach Soccer tournament will be held from April 26 to 28 in China's southern coastal city of Haikou, capital of Hainan Province.

Teams from Portugal, the Czech Republic and England have been invited to join hosts China in the round robin competition.

Founded in 2017 on the eve of the first Belt and Road Forum in China, the beach soccer tournament aims to promote cultural exchanges between China and Belt and Road countries and regions.

Beach soccer has increased in popularity in recent years, with 134 countries and regions having national beach soccer teams.