Everything You Need to Know About FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is the foremost international football tournament in the world. The month-long tournament originated in 1930 and has been played every four years since, save for during World War II. However, it isn’t the only major international tournament hosted by FIFA. Others include the Women’s World Cup, men’s and women’s U-20 and U-17 World Cups, and the Beach Soccer World Cup.
Inception and FIFA’s Involvement
Unlike the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is held every two years, although this only began following the 2009 event. Prior to that, it was held on an annual basis dating back to 1995. FIFA, however, was not affiliated with the tournament until 2005. Because of this, the first decade of the tournament was relatively ungoverned, and the qualification process was inconsistent, if not non-existent.
Prior to FIFA’s involvement, the tournaments were organized by Beach Soccer Worldwide, and nations were either invited to participate each year or qualified based on performance in premier regional tournaments or the previous year’s World Cup. Because there was a lack of regional tournaments, the majority of the teams participating came from South America and Europe. The inaugural tournament in 1995 had only eight teams, while the last non-FIFA-affiliated tournament had 12 teams. The United States was the only participant from outside Europe or South America in both of those tournaments. Each of the 10 non-FIFA-affiliated tournaments took place in Brazil, as did the first three FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup events.
Brazil’s Dominance
The first-ever tournament in 1995 was won by Brazil, and that launched a run of six consecutive years in which the host nation won the event. Portugal broke that streak in 2001, but Brazil won seven of the next eight tournaments through the 2009 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To date, there have been 20 Beach Soccer World Championships and FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups, and Brazil has won 14 championships and finished among the top three teams in all but three events. Portugal has won three championships, while Russia and France have won two and one, respectively.
While it has only won one of the past five FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups, Brazil remains the dominant force in the sport as evidenced by its №1 world ranking as of January 2020. Portugal, Italy, Russia, and Iran rounded out the top five.
Portugal’s Victory in 2019
The 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, held in Paraguay from November 21 to December 1, was the seventh championship held outside of Brazil and the third tournament won by Portugal. It featured 16 teams, which has been the norm since the 2006 event, that qualified through tournaments such as the 2019 AFC Beach Soccer Championship (Japan, Oman, UAE) and the 2019 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship (Mexico and the United States).
The semi-final stage saw Italy score an 8–7 victory over Russia, while Portugal advanced to the finals after beating Japan 2–1 in penalty kicks following a 3–3 tie. The final, played at Los Pynandi Stadium, was won 6–4 by Portugal, thanks in part to Jordan Alexandre Grilo Santos, who scored three goals and later earned the Silver Ball as the second-best player in the tournament. His teammate Bê Martins won the Bronze Ball, while Japan’s Ozu Moreira earned Golden Ball distinction. Russia defeated Japan 5–4 in the third-place match.
Russia Hosting in 2021
Despite its perception as a cold and frigid country, Russia is one of the premier countries in beach soccer development. The country won back-to-back FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups in 2011 and 2013 and will host the tournament in 2021. FIFA selected Russia as host over finalists El Salvador and Chile at a council meeting in China this past October. Russia hosted the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup European Qualifier three months prior to the meeting. Sources have also noted that FIFA’s decision was influenced by how well the country organized the 2018 World Cup, which featured matches played in 11 different cities. The main venue for the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, meanwhile, will be the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Madjer — The Best Beach Soccer Player of All Time
Several players have risen to prominence through their performances at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, but no player has accomplished as much as Portugal’s João Victor Saraiva, better known as Madjer. Regarded as the best to ever play the sport, he was the top scorer at the 2002 and 2004 Beach Soccer World Championships and was the top scorer at the 2005, 2006, and 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups. In addition, he finished second in tournament scoring in 2009, 2011, and 2015. He represented Portugal in international events from 1998 to 2019 and scored 1,084 goals over the course of his career. He retired in fitting fashion after helping Portugal win its third FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2019.
