1995 Beach Soccer World Championships

1995 Beach Soccer World Championships
I Mundial de futebol de areia
Official logo
Tournament details
Host countryBrazil
DatesJanuary 24–29
Teams8 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Brazil (1st title)
Runners-up United States
Third place England
Fourth place Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored149 (9.31 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Zico
Italy Altobelli
(12 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Zico
Brazil Júnior
Best goalkeeperBrazil Paulo Sérgio
1996

The 1995 Beach Soccer World Championships was the first edition of the Beach Soccer World Championships, the most prestigious competition in international beach soccer contested by men's national teams until 2005, when the competition was then replaced by the second iteration of a world cup in beach soccer, the better known FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] It was organised by Brazilian sports agency Koch Tavares (one of the founding partners of Beach Soccer Worldwide).

The tournament took place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The hosts and heavy favourites[2][3] Brazil won the tournament by beating the United States 8–1 in the final, coming from behind to claim their first world title.

The tournament was immediately deemed a success, leading to the instant scheduling of a second World Cup the following year.[4]

The event was notable for featuring many high-profile ex-association footballers, fuelling its popularity, including the likes of the Brazilians Zico, Júnior and Cláudio Adão, Italian 1982 World Cup winners Alessandro Altobelli and Claudio Gentile, Franco Causio, England's Gary Stevens and Luther Blissett, and brothers René and Willy van de Kerkhof of the Netherlands' 1978 World Cup runners-up squad.[4]

  1. ^ "FIFA launches first ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup". FIFA.com. 1 February 2005. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Brasil tem Zico como reforco". Jornal do Brasil (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro. January 19, 1995. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Brasil e favorito no Mundial". Jornal dos Sports (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro. January 24, 1995. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Dattoli, Vicente (January 30, 1995). "Esporte ganhara circuito internacional". Jornal do Brasil (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved July 6, 2017.