VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Despite the cloudy conditions along with on and off showers, the Virginia Beach oceanfront was filled with soccer games for several blocks. The 26th Ferguson North American Sand Soccer Championships, which started with just 24 teams, has now ballooned to over 800. The event's Director Of Operations, Matt Whalen says the area and the sport are made for each other. "It's kind of a match made in heaven", he says. "You live at this wonderful oceanfront community in Virginia Beach. You have a vibrant soccer community with the soccer folks around here and it's a great thing".
Teams of all ages are competing. For the first time, the event will have a women's open final for prize money along with the men. Whalen thinks the event will continue to grow. "This is something from a word of mouth standpoint. You need to be apart of this if you haven't been apart of this before. With the advent of social media, that word has spread like wild fire."