Organising body | BSWW |
---|---|
Founded | 2008 |
Region | Europe (UEFA) |
Number of teams | ~25 |
Qualifier for | FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup |
Most successful team(s) | Spain (4 titles) |
2025 UEFA qualifiers |
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup – Europe qualifier is a beach soccer championship that takes place to determine the nations who will represent Europe at the upcoming edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] It is contested between the senior men's national teams of the members of UEFA.
In 2006, FIFA made qualification to the World Cup mandatory (previously, nations were simply invited).[2] Originally, the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) doubled as Europe's qualification tournament;[3][4] in 2008, this separate championship was created as the European qualification route.[5] FIFA currently allocate Europe five berths at the World Cup[6] and hence the top five teams qualify to the World Cup finals.[see notes] 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.
Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) have organised the event since its inception. Europe's governing body for football, UEFA, only began involvement in 2019 – sending delegates and financial support.[7] Unlike the World Cup qualifiers for UEFA in football, it is a knockout tournament with a champion crowned. Its large scale and competitiveness are often noted, making it viewed as a major title to win.[8][9]
Spain are the most successful team with four titles. However, Portugal have secured qualification to the World Cup on the most occasions (seven).