CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship

CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship
Organizing bodyCONCACAF
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
RegionNorth America, Central America and the Caribbean
Number of teams12–16
Qualifier forFIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
Current champion(s) United States (3rd title)
Most successful team(s) Mexico (4 titles)
Websiteconcacaf.com
2023 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship

The CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship is the main championship for beach soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, contested between senior men's national teams of the members of CONCACAF.[1] It is the sport's version of the better known CONCACAF Gold Cup in association football. North America's governing body for football, CONCACAF, organize the championship,[2] with cooperation from Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW).[3]

The winners of the championship are crowned continental champions;[4] the tournament also acts as the qualification route for North American nations to the upcoming edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup[1] and is therefore also known as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup CONCACAF qualifier.[5] Coinciding with the annual staging of the World Cup, the competition took place yearly until 2010; the World Cup then became biennial, and as its supplementary qualification event, the championship followed suit.

The championship was established in 2006 after FIFA made it a requirement for all confederations to begin holding qualification tournaments to determine the best national team(s) in their region and hence those who would proceed to represent their continent in the upcoming World Cup (previously, nations were simply invited to play without having to earn their place).[6] The first edition was preceded by a joint qualification tournament with CONMEBOL in 2005; a second and final joint event was held in 2007.[7][8] FIFA currently allocate North America two berths at the World Cup[9] and hence the top two teams (the winners and the runners-up) qualify to the World Cup finals.[5]

Mexico are the most successful nation with four titles.[10] They are followed by the United States with three titles (also current champions), El Salvador with two and Panama with one.

  1. ^ a b "CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship 2017 Regulations". CONCACAF. 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  2. ^ "CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship 2006 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF. 22 August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. ^ "The Bahamas Set to Host 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship". CONCACAF. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Schedule and Kickoff Times Set for 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Record 11 teams in CONCACAF Qualifier". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  6. ^ "FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2006 qualifiers to start in Brazil on 5 March". FIFA. 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  7. ^ "En Conmebol lanzan Eliminatorias del Mundial de Fútbol Playa Bahamas 2017" (in Spanish). Paraguayan Football Association. 19 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  8. ^ "About the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship". CONCACAF. 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  9. ^ "World Cup gets bigger". FIFA. 25 August 2005. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Mexico claim the 2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship". CONCACAF. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2019.