MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Francis Farberoff, former captain and current Assistant Coach of the USA Beach Soccer team, has been busy this summer preparing his players for the Beach Soccer World Wide Mundialito 2016. The tournament will take place July 29-31 in Cascais, Portugal. 

Recently on Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Faberoff's squad played a practice game in preparation for the upcoming international championship.  At the event, Farberoff reunited with Andres De Leon, a fellow STU soccer alumnus from the 1990's.

Francis Farberoff (B.A., '97) is the Assistant Coach of the U.S. Beach Soccer National Team and President of FBS-FC Travel Soccer Inc. Farberoff was named the Assistant Coach of the U.S. Beach Soccer National Team in March 2016 after an illustrious beach soccer career. He became President of Futbol-Beach Soccer-Futsal Club when he and a group of former and current professional players established it in 2010.

Farberoff graduated from St. Thomas University in 1997 with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism. He played Varsity Men's Soccer under Head Coach Barry Kaplan for all four of his years at STU. Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he credits his experience at STU with expanding his cultural knowledge.

"My experience at St. Thomas University was truly enriching," stated Farberoff. "I met people from all over the world and was able to learn something from each one of them."

Farberoff garnered the nickname 'El Capitan' as a professional international beach soccer player. He has over 70 caps for the USA team, most of which he was the team captain for. Farberoff appeared in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2013. During his 14 years as captain of Team USA, he led the national team to three CONCACAF Championship victories.

Farberoff also captained Florida Beach Soccer F.C., becoming an eight-time North American Sand Soccer Champion with the club. He became a Brazilian Beach Soccer Club Champion while competing with Corinthians, one of Brazil's premier multisport clubs. Farberoff also competed in the Mundialito de Clubes, a FIFA sanctioned beach soccer tournament in Brazil, as the captain of the Seattle Sounders' beach soccer team.

Farberoff's best beach soccer moment occurred in a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifier in Mexico.

"I scored the game-winning goal in the last minute," said Farberoff. "It was the Final against Uruguay and my effort allowed [the U.S. National Team] to advance in the tournament, making it all the more special."

With Farberoff's playing career now coming to an end, he has shifted his focus to coaching. His experience as a player led to him being named the Assistant Coach of the U.S. Beach Soccer National Team in March 2016.

Farberoff also trains soccer, beach soccer, and futsal (indoor soccer) players, ages 15 and under, at the youth soccer club that he founded in 2010. FBS-FC is a soccer club dedicated to promoting and developing youth soccer in the area of North Miami-Dade and South Broward. Their mission is to believe in the potential of all FBS-FC athletes and develop them to the maximum capability so they can have all the necessary tools, preparing them to be successful in any soccer or non-soccer circumstance they may encounter in life.