Euro Beach Soccer Cup

Euro Beach Soccer Cup

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Founded	1998
Region	Europe (UEFA)
Number of teams	8
Current champions	Spain (4th title)
Most successful team(s)	Portugal (6 titles)
Website	EBSC
2016 Euro Beach Soccer Cup

The Euro Beach Soccer Cup (Euro BS Cup or EBSC) is a biennial (previously annual) beach soccer competition contested between European men's national teams, organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW). Having started in 1998 as the European Pro Beach Soccer Championships, the tournament's prestige is held in being one of the very oldest and longest running beach soccer competitions in Europe and the world.

Historically, the top eight ranking teams from the previous Euro Beach Soccer League qualified to contest the cup, hence the similar naming, with the first edition in 1998 starting off the back of the first EBSL season earlier in the year, making it one of beach soccer's main prestigious tournaments. However, due to saturation in the calendar in recent years, the once major championship has been somewhat back-benched. The participating teams are not always the best ranked as in the past (notably in 2008 and 2014), with entry requirements being more lax/down to invitation, and the tournament has been moved to every two years, the last annual edition coming in 2010.

Portugal are the most successful team, having won the tournament six times, however they have failed to win since 2006. Spain are the current champions, having won their fourth title in 2014. The next edition is scheduled to take place in Belgrade in June 2016, which will see hosts Serbia compete for the first time at an international level.

The cup is played as a straight knock-out tournament, other than in the 1998, 2008 and 2014 editions when a group stage was used first before a set of knock-out rounds.

Results

Year	Location		Final				Third place play-off				Awards
			Winners	Score	Runners-up		Third place	Score	Fourth place		Top Scorer	Best Player	Best Goalkeeper
1998 Details	Siracusa, Italy		Portugal	3–2	Spain		Italy	11–4	Germany		Alan	Alan	Gruter
1999 Details	Alicante, Spain		Spain	6–2	Portugal		France	8–7	Italy		—
2001 Details	Maspalomas, Spain		Portugal	4–3	Spain		Italy	5–4	Germany		Bruschini	Madjer	Roberto Valeiro
2002 Details	Barcelona, Spain		Portugal	2–1	Spain		France	9–6	Italy		Amarelle	Madjer	Rollmann
2003 Details	Liège, Belgium		Portugal	6–3	France		Spain	6–3	Germany		Massimo Agostini	Hernani Madruga	Claude Barrabe
2004 Details	Lisbon, Portugal		Portugal	8–3	Spain		Italy	9–9 a.e.t. (4–3) pen.	France		Madjer	Madjer	João Carlos
2005 Details	Moscow, Russia		Switzerland	4–3	Russia		Portugal	5–4	Ukraine		Pasquale Carotenuto	Andrey Bukhlitskiy	Nico Jung
2006 Details	Naples, Italy		Portugal	9–8	France		Italy	6–4	Switzerland		Pasquale Carotenuto	Pasquale Carotenuto	Christophe Eggimann
2007 Details	Tarragona, Spain		Ukraine	3–0	France		Portugal	2–1	Switzerland		Dejan Stankovic	Jérémy Basquaise	Volodymyr Hladchenko
2008 Details	Baku, Azerbaijan		Spain	2–0	Switzerland		Azerbaijan	4–3	Norway		Dejan Stankovic	Nico	Roberto Valeiro
2009 Details	Rome, Italy		Spain	6–4	Switzerland		Portugal	7–5	Hungary		Madjer	Nico	Nico Jung
2010 Details	Rome, Italy		Russia	6–4	Portugal		Italy	5–4	Spain		Madjer	Ilya Leonov	Andrey Bukhlitskiy
2012 Details	Moscow, Russia		Russia	4–2	Portugal		Switzerland	5–4	Italy		Madjer Dejan Stankovic Giuseppe Soria	Alexey Makarov	Andrey Bukhlitskiy
2014 Details	Baku, Azerbaijan		Spain	8–6	Switzerland		Russia	7–4	Greece		Noel Ott	Juanma	Dávid Ficsór
2016 Details	Belgrade, Serbia

Successful national teams

Team	Titles	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	Appearances /14
Portugal	6 (1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006)	3 (1999, 2010, 2012)	3 (2005, 2007, 2009)	-	12
Spain	4 (1999, 2008, 2009, 2014)	4 (1998, 2001, 2002, 2004)	1 (2003)	1 (2010)	14
Russia	2 (2010, 2012)	1 (2005)	1 (2014)	-	5
Switzerland	1 (2005)	3 (2008, 2009, 2014)	1 (2012)	2 (2006, 2007)	13
Ukraine	1 (2007)	-	-	1 (2005)	2
France	-	3 (2003, 2006, 2007)	2 (1999, 2002)	1 (2004)	12
Italy	-	-	5 (1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2010)	3 (1999, 2002, 2012)	13
Azerbaijan	-	-	1 (2008)	-	2
Germany	-	-	-	3 (1998, 2001, 2003)	5
Greece	-	-	-	1 (2014)	2
Hungary	-	-	-	1 (2009)	4
Norway	-	-	-	1 (2008)	2

See also

• Beach soccer