By John Egbokhan
The Super Sand Eagles will today start their hunt for another title as the 2013 Copa Lagos Beach Soccer Tournament begins at the Eko Atlantic.

Senegal and Lebanon will set the competition rolling with the opening match while the Sand Eagles confront Germany in the second match of the day

France’s Jeremy Basquaise, right, battles for the ball with Nigeria’s Ogbonnaya Okemmiri, during a past FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup match in Rio de Janeiro.

The Nigerian side are  determined to win the trophy and will begin their title defence against Germany.

“We will be looking to continue to do the things that we do well in our opening match. We want to get off to a good start”, said  captain Isiaka Olawale.

Nigerian striker Abu Azeez of Kwara United, will be the man to watch as he was the top scorer at last year’s CopaLagosBeach tourney.
The tournament will also feature plenty of entertainment with DJ Xclusive from COOL FM playing throughout the tournament, while 6 sensational cheerleaders will also be in on the action.

The cheerleaders who hail from the Canary Islands, in Spain, arrived in Lagos ahead of today’s kick off. Estefania, Lorena, Yurena, Begona, Arlene and Berenice and will bring their vibrant and sassy dance routines to the stadium.

Arlene, head of the cheerleaders, said: “It is always so exciting for us to come to Lagos, because it reminds us so much of Spain. The energy here is incredible and the people are very warm and friendly. We love it here, and we always have a great time performing at COPA Lagos where the crowd are fun to perform for,” she admits.

She added that the group has designed a new set of dance routines specifically for a Nigeria audience.

“We feel really proud to be here again to help Kinetic Sports with COPA Lagos, the Lagos state government and the people of Nigeria promote sports tourism.”