1997 Beach Soccer World Championships

1997 Beach Soccer World Championships
III Beach Soccer World Championships
Tournament details
Host countryBrazil
DatesJanuary 14–19
Teams8 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Brazil (3rd title)
Runners-up Uruguay
Third place United States
Fourth place Argentina
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored141 (8.81 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Júnior
Uruguay Venancio Ramos
(11 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Júnior
Best goalkeeperBrazil Paulo Sérgio
1996
1998

The 1997 Beach Soccer World Championships was the third 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).

For the third consecutive time, the tournament took place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Hosts Brazil won the tournament for the third time in a row by beating Uruguay 5–2 in what was a repeat of the final in the previous edition. It was also the first and only time in the history of the world cup that no European nations finished in the top four.

Future champions France and Portugal both competed for the first time at this edition, as did the first Asian nation, Japan.

  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.