Euro Winners Cup

The Euro Winners Cup (EWC) is an annual, continental beach soccer club competition contested between top-division European teams; the clubs that are their country's national league/cup champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) from countries all across Europe take part. Organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), the championship is viewed as beach soccer's rudimentary version of the UEFA Champions League in its parent sport, association football.^[1][2][3]

Euro Winners Cup

Organising body	BSWW
Founded	9 October 2012; 11 years ago (2012-10-09)
Region	Europe (UEFA)
Number of teams	50–60
Related competitions	Euro Winners Challenge (2nd tier) Women's Euro Winners Cup
Current champions	Kfar Qassem (1st title)
Most successful club(s)	Kristall (4 titles)
Website	Beach Soccer Worldwide
2023 Euro Winners Cup

Featuring many of the world's best beach soccer players and clubs, the championship offers the strongest level of club competition on the old continent.^[4] It is therefore the most prestigious club beach soccer championship in Europe; the winners become continental champions.

Established in 2013 as a 20 team, five-day event,^[5] domestic beach soccer advancement in Europe has seen the tournament rapidly expand;^[1] in 2017, BSWW introduced a preliminary qualifying round, open to all clubs not automatically qualified for the competition proper.^[6] This has doubled the competition's length to 10 days, with over 50 clubs now participating; it takes place on multiple pitches in one location. BSWW also began a women's edition in 2016.^[7]

Kristall of Saint Petersburg, Russia are the most successful club with four titles; Kfar Qassem of Israel are the current champions.

Organisation

Founding

EWC former logo timeline

 

2013–2015.

 

2016–2021.

The idea of the Euro Winners Cup had been "worked on for so much time", finally being founded on 9 October 2012 after an agreement was signed between organisers Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) and the Comune of San Benedetto del Tronto to host the first edition in the Italian city the following spring.^[8]

At the signing, Gabino Renales (BSWW General Manager) said with increasing numbers of national leagues across Europe and the growing level of competitiveness within them, taking clubs onto an international scene was something the sport was demanding and hence the Euro Winners Cup was created to satisfy this craving.^[8]

Qualification

From 2013 to 2016, just one club from each European nation qualified – the champions of their highest level of beach soccer competition (be it a national league or knockout cup). The host country was also allowed to enter two additional clubs – the club based in the host city of the event and their national league/cup runners-up. The defending champions also earned automatic qualification regardless of domestic performance.^[6] Other runners-up were also sometimes accepted at the discretion of BSWW.

In 2017, the Preliminary Round was introduced – a qualifying stage open to any and all clubs that do not qualify automatically, regardless of where they placed in their nation's domestic league/cup competition. The successful clubs progress to the competition proper.^[9]

In 2019, BSWW overhauled the qualification system, adopting one based upon the UEFA coefficient ranking used in the UEFA Champions League. In this system, more than one club from stronger national leagues – those featuring higher quality clubs and players – qualify for the competition.^[10][11] The strength of each league is determined by analysing the performance of clubs in the EWC on a country-by-country basis over the previous five editions.^[12] Currently, three clubs (league champions, runners-up and third place) from the top six ranked countries qualify to the competition (as of 2022 these are: Portugal, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Germany and Poland). Two clubs (league champions and runners-up) from the leagues ranked seventh, eighth and ninth qualify (as of 2022 these are: Turkey, Italy and Belgium). And the remaining countries ranked tenth and lower continue to have just one club qualify – their league champions.^[13][14] The preliminary round remains in place, as do additional slots for the host club and defending champions.

In 2020 and 2021, qualification was completely abandoned due to health concerns and travel constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meaning many clubs could not compete. The competition was opened up to simply any club in Europe that was able and willing to participate; the competition format was also altered accordingly for these editions.^[15][16][17] Since 2022, clubs from Russia have been banned from entering in accordance with sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^{[18][19][20][21]}

Format

Currently, the tournament is a 10-day event taking place in late May or early June and typically operates under the following format:

• Days 1–3: Preliminary round – the participating clubs are split into groups (usually of four) and compete in a round robin format.
• Days 4–6: Group stage – the eight best ranking teams from the preliminary round proceed to join the automatic qualifiers in the group stage. The clubs are split into groups (usually of four) and compete in a round robin format.
• Days 7–10: Knockout stage – the 32 best ranking teams from the group stage advance to the knockout stage. The teams compete in single-elimination matches; the round of 32 (day 7), the round of 16 and quarter-finals (day 8), semi-finals (9) and ending with the final (10). Consolation matches are also played to determine the final rankings involving the clubs knocked out of these rounds.

Results

Year	Location	No. of clubs		Final				Third place play-off
				Winners	Result	Runners-up		Third place	Result	Fourth place
2013	San Benedetto, Italy	20		Lokomotiv Moscow	3–0	Griffin Kyiv		Beşiktaş	3–1	Grasshoppers
2014	Catania, Italy	25		Kristall	2–0	Milano		Braga	4–1	Sable Dancers Bern
2015	Catania, Italy	28		Kristall	6–2	Catania		Vybor	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Lokomotiv Moscow
2016	Catania, Italy	32		Viareggio	6–6 (a.e.t.)^[A]	Artur Music		Braga	5–4	Catania
2017	Nazaré, Portugal	54		Braga	8–5	Artur Music		Lokomotiv Moscow	5–4	Delta Saratov
2018	Nazaré, Portugal	58		Braga	3–3 (a.e.t.)^[B]	Kristall		KP Łódź	4–3	Lokomotiv Moscow
2019	Nazaré, Portugal	60		Braga	6–0	KP Łódź		Levante	7–6	Delta Saratov
2020	Nazaré, Portugal	27		Kristall	3–3 (a.e.t.)^[C]	Braga		Real Münster	7–6	Marbella
2021	Nazaré, Portugal^[22]	50		Kristall	6–3	Braga		San Francisco	7–4	Real Münster
2022	Nazaré, Portugal^[23]	60		Benfica Loures	3–1	Braga		Kfar Qassem	7–2	Grande-Motte Pyramide
2023	Nazaré, Portugal^[24]	52		Kfar Qassem	2–2 (a.e.t.)^[D]	Pisa 2014		O Sótão	3–2	Huelva

A. ^{^} Viareggio won the penalty shootout 7–6.

B. ^{^} Braga won the penalty shootout 5–4.

C. ^{^} Kristall won the penalty shootout 1–0.

D. ^{^} Kfar Qassem won the penalty shootout 5–3.

Performance

Successful clubs

Team	Winners	Runners-up	Third place
Kristall	4 (2014, 2015, 2020, 2021)	1 (2018)	–
Braga	3 (2017, 2018, 2019)	3 (2020, 2021, 2022)	2 (2014, 2016)
Kfar Qassem	1 (2023)	–	1 (2022)
Lokomotiv Moscow	1 (2013)	–	1 (2017)
Benfica Loures	1 (2022)	–	–
Viareggio	1 (2016)	–	–
Artur Music	–	2 (2016, 2017)	–
KP Łódź	–	1 (2019)	1 (2018)
Pisa 2014	–	1 (2023)	–
Catania	–	1 (2015)	–
Milano	–	1 (2014)	–
Griffin Kyiv	–	1 (2013)	–
O Sótão	–	–	1 (2023)
San Francisco	–	–	1 (2021)
Real Münster	–	–	1 (2020)
Levante	–	–	1 (2019)
Vybor	–	–	1 (2015)
Beşiktaş	–	–	1 (2013)

Successful nations

Nation	Winners	Runners-up	Third place
Russia	5	1	1
Portugal	4	3	3
Italy	1	3	0
Israel	1	0	1
Ukraine	0	3	1
Poland	0	1	1
Spain	0	0	2
Germany	0	0	1
Turkey	0	0	1

Awards

Year	Top goalscorer(s)	Gls	Best player	Best goalkeeper	Ref.
2013	Dejan Stankovic (  Grasshoppers)	13	Egor Shaykov (  Lokomotiv Moscow)	Vitalii Sydorenko (  Griffin Kyiv)
2014	Léo Martins (  Milano)	13	Bruno Xavier (  Kristall)	Dona (  Braga)
2015	Ihar Brishtel (  Vybor)	14	Datinha (  Kristall)	Simone Del Mestre (  Catania)
2016	Gabriele Gori (  Viareggio)	18	Rodrigo (  Catania)	Vitalii Sydorenko (  Artur Music)
2017	Gabriele Gori (  Viareggio)	18	Mauricinho (  Braga)	Vitalii Sydorenko (  Artur Music)
2018	Llorenç Gómez (  Kfar Qassem)	16	Mauricinho (  Kristall)	Dona (  Braga)
2019	Gabriele Gori (  Artur Music)	26	Jordan Santos (  Braga)	Dariusz Słowiński (  KP Łódź)
2020	Llorenç Gómez (  Artur Music)	22	Mauricinho (  Kristall)	Rafa Padilha (  Braga)	[8]
2021	Bernardo Lopes (  GRAP)	18	Mauricinho (  Kristall)	Maxim Chuzhkov (  Kristall)	[9]
2022	Filip Filipov (  Husty)	17	Luis Henrqiue (  Benfica Loures)	Elinton Andrade (  Benfica Loures)	[10]
2023	Bokinha (  Atlas AO)	18	Bruno Xavier (  Pisa 2014)	Eliott Mounoud (  Kfar Qassem)	[11]

Appearances & performance timeline

The following is an appearance and performance timeline of the countries who have been represented by clubs at the Euro Winners Cup. It shows which countries were represented at each edition and by how many clubs. The colour of the cells indicates the furthest any of that country's clubs progressed in the competition in that edition, corresponding to the key below. Clubs which did not progress passed the preliminary round are not counted.

34 members of UEFA have been represented by at least one club in at least one edition to date.

Key

	Champions			Round of 32^[b]
	Runners-up			Group stage
	Third place		${\displaystyle n}$	No. of clubs entered
	Fourth place		×	Did not enter a club
	Quarter-finals		•	Banned from entering
	Round of 16^[a]			Host country

a. Not used in 2013.

b. Not used in 2013–18, 20, 22.

Timeline

Years Country	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Total
Azerbaijan	1	×	1	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	2
Belarus	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	×	×	×	×	7
Belgium	×	×	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	2	2	14
Bulgaria	×	1	1	1	1	1	1	×	1	1	1	9
Cyprus	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	1
Czech Republic	×	1	1	×	×	1	1	×	1	1	1	7
Denmark	×	×	×	1	×	1	1	×	1	1	×	5
England	1	1	1	2	1	×	1	1	×	1	1	10
Estonia	×	1	1	1	1	1	1	×	×	1	1	8
Finland	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	1	×	2
France	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	4	17
Georgia	×	×	1	1	1	1	1	×	2	×	1	8
Germany	×	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	4	3	18
Greece	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	14
Hungary	1	1	1	1	1	×	1	×	×	×	×	6
Israel	1	1	×	1	1	1	×	×	2	2	1	10
Italy	3	3	3	3	2	3	1	×	1	2	3	24
Kazakhstan	×	1	1	×	1	×	×	×	×	1	×	4
Latvia	1	1	×	1	1	1	1	×	×	×	1	7
Lithuania	×	×	×	1	×	1	×	×	×	1	×	3
Malta	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	1
Moldova	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	13
Netherlands	1	1	×	1	1	1	1	×	×	×	×	6
Norway	×	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	×	×	×	1
Poland	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	×	×	1	×	13
Portugal	1	1	1	1	4	5	10	7	17	9	8	64
Romania	×	×	1	1	1	1	×	1	×	1	1	7
Russia	1	2	2	3	5	2	5	2	4	•	•	26
Slovakia	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	1	2
Spain	1	1	2	1	2	2	3	2	5	3	3	25
Sweden	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	1	2	1	×	5
Switzerland	1	1	1	2	1	×	1	1	×	×	×	8
Turkey	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	×	×	1	1	10
Ukraine	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	×	2	19
Total teams	20	25	28	32	36	34	44	27	50	40	40	376
Total countries	18	22	23	25	25	24	24	13	16	22	21	–

See also

• Women's Euro Winners Cup
• Copa Libertadores de Beach Soccer
• UEFA Futsal Champions League

References

1. "Euro Winners Cup 2015 to be biggest yet". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
2. "Beachsoccerteam VIOD klaar voor Champions League avontuur" (in Dutch). nieuwedockumercourant.nl. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
3. "Euro Winners Cup (Champions League) Havana Shots Aargau Damen" (in German). funders.ch. 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
4. "Euro Winners Cup confirmed in Catania". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
5. "20 teams take part in Euro Winners Cup!". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
6. "Euro Winners Cup 2017 to feature preliminary round". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
7. "Euro Winners Cup 2016 to feature Women's competition". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
8. "The Euro Winners Cup comes true". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
9. "Euro Winners Cup 2017: Preliminary phase open for all". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
10. "Куско: чемпионат мира-2019 пройдёт в ноябре. Я догадываюсь, где, но сказать не могу" (in Russian). Beach Soccer Russia. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
11. "Dates confirmed for Euro Winners Cup 2019!". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
12. "Новый год начался в ноябре. Что известно о календаре сезона-2019 – пляжный футбол на BSRussia". Beach Soccer Russia (in Russian). 14 November 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
13. "Slots - Euro Winners Cup 2022". Beach Soccer Worldwide via Beach Soccer Belgium. 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
14. "Draw Procedure - EWC 2022 (Men)". Beach Soccer Worldwide via BLC Vamos. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
15. The 2020 beach soccer season to begin in August. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
16. Teams announced for 2020 Euro Winners Cup. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
17. 2021 Calendar Launch. Beach Soccer Worldwide (video). 13 April 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
18. "Decision of the UEFA Executive Committee related to Russia" (PDF). UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. 28 February 2022. p. 2. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
19. "Measures taken by BSWW after the attacks on Ukraine". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
20. "Утверждён список мужских и женских команд Euro Winners 2022" [The list of men's and women's teams of Euro Winners 2022 has been approved]. Beach Soccer Russia (in Russian). 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
21. "Состоялась жеребьёвка Euro Winners Cup 2023 – пляжный футбол на BSRussia". BS Russia (in Russian). 19 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
22. Euro Winners Cup 2021 teams confirmed. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 6 July 2021.
23. "Euro Winners Cup to return to Nazaré in 2022". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
24. "The Euro Winners will return to Nazaré in 2023". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.

External links

• Beach Soccer Worldwide, official website