The first time television networks covered beach soccer tournaments was at the famous Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The city hosted the first World Championship in 1995 and with the host nation, Brazil, winning, they became the original World Champions of beach soccer. The tournament was such a success that the interest grew across the world and there emerged the Pro Beach Soccer Tour which started in 1996.
The first tour consisted of sixty games, played across two years in countries in Europe, the US, Asia and South America. It was successful in Europe and caused the start of the European League in 1998 for beach soccer. The resulting professionalism and interest in this has increased the interest of the media, of fans and accompanying sponsors that make the tournaments a commercial success.
The Beach Soccer Company, originally founded in 1992 moved to Barcelona, in Spain, renamed itself the Pro Beach Soccer company and then started working with Octagon Koch Tavares. He organises all of the World Championships and the South American tournaments, and the combined organization called Beach Soccer Worldwide unifies all of the Beach Soccer tournaments across the world. This provides a common platform for major sponsors, TV and FIFA to work with and promoting the beach soccer sport.
In Europe, teams from across the continent take place in competitions including the UK, Greece, Spain and Portugal. On the American side of the Atlantic there are participating countries from both North and South America in tournaments. The promotion of the beach soccer tournaments attracts young people to the sport across the globe.
Beach Soccer Worldwide have continued to ensure funding from sponsorship from major multinationals such as McDonalds and MasterCard; the latter are now sponsors of the Euro BS League. FIFA’s backing to the sport ensured that the 2005 World Cup was another memorable affair, again held at the Copacabana Beach in Brazil.
Overall, Brazil remain the dominant force in beach soccer, having won 13 titles of the World Beach Soccer Cup. Other winners only consist of Portugal, France and Russia, each of whom have won the title once only. Beach soccer tournaments provide a valuable opportunity for keeping young people occupied, and as well as having a great deal of fun, provide an outlet to make friends and follow the international teams.
Optimists for the sport are hoping that beach soccer might make it into the 2016 Summer Olympics. The popularity of the sport has been noted by FIFA and a potential future inclusion in the Olympic Games would further advance the profile of beach soccer. The players of today would do well to play hard and get into a national team to win a future gold medal!
It is likely that the 2013 World Cup will be held in Tahiti, which should ensure that beach soccer tournaments go from strength to strength in reputation and popularity. There will be plenty of young fans and players who will want to spend a few weeks and get to that event.
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