Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand.
Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) is the organisation responsible for the founding and growth of association football's derivative sport of beach soccer. The founding partners of BSWW codified the rules of beach soccer in 1992, with BSWW as it is known today having been officially founded in late 2000 as a singular institution to develop the sport and organise international beach soccer competitions across the globe, primarily between national teams. The company is recognised as playing the biggest role in helping to establish the rules of beach soccer, to spread and evolve the sport around the world as cited by FIFA who took on governing body status of the sport from BSWW in 2005. Having established the sport's key regulations, FIFA acknowledged BSWW's framework, making their rules the official laws of beach soccer and now controls them and any modifications.
The Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations (BSAFCON) is the main championship for beach soccer in Africa, contested between senior men's national teams who are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It is the sport's version of the better known Africa Cup of Nations in association football.
The 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the sixth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Overall, this was the 16th edition of a world cup in beach soccer since the establishment of the Beach Soccer World Championships which ran from 1995–2004 but was not governed by FIFA. It took place at the Stadio del Mare, a temporary stadium at the Marina di Ravenna in Ravenna, Italy, the third tournament to take place outside Brazil, which started on September 1 and ended on September 11, 2011. However this was the first tournament to take place under the new two year basis; now the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup takes place once every two years. The tournament was confirmed in March 2010.
The 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Overall, this was the 17th edition of a world cup in beach soccer since the establishment of the Beach Soccer World Championships which ran from 1995–2004 but was not governed by FIFA. It took place from 18–28 September 2013 at Tahua To'ata Stadium in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia and was the fourth tournament to have taken place outside Brazil. This was the second tournament to take place since the establishment of a longer two-year cycle of tournaments. This was also the first FIFA tournament held in a Pacific country other than New Zealand, and the first senior FIFA tournament took place in the region.
The Bahamas national beach soccer team represents The Bahamas in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Bahamas Football Association, the governing body for football in the Bahamas.
The Morocco national beach soccer team represents Morocco in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Morocco.
The 2011 CAF Beach Soccer Championship were the qualifiers for African national beach soccer teams to determine the two teams that qualify for the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. They took place from 15–19 June 2011 at a temporary stadium at the Ain Diab beach in Casablanca, Morocco for the first time. All previous CAF qualifiers were held in Durban, South Africa.
The Madagascar women's national football team is the FIFA recognised senior women's A team for Madagascar. The team played their first FIFA matches in 2015. They were runner-up to Réunion in the 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games. They have competed in the COSAFA Women's Championship, in which they won a game against Comoros in 2019. The development of a national team in the country is problematic because of issues found on the continent and on the island, specifically including the lack of popularity of women's football as a participation sport in Madagascar.
The 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the premier international beach soccer competition for men's national teams, which has been organized by FIFA since 2005. Overall, this was the 18th edition of a world cup in beach soccer since the establishment of the Beach Soccer World Championships which ran from 1995 to 2004 but was not governed by FIFA. It was also the third edition to take place under the biennial system introduced in 2009.
The Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup is an international beach soccer tournament which is held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates every November as the finale of the competitive international beach soccer season. The invitation-only tournament has been held annually since the inaugural edition in 2011.
The 2015 CAF Beach Soccer Championship, also known as the 2015 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, was a beach soccer tournament which took place in Roche Caiman, Seychelles on 14–19 April 2015. This was the first time that the CAF Beach Soccer Championship was held in Seychelles. All matches were played at the Roche Caiman Sports Complex.
The following were the scheduled events of association football for the year 2017 throughout the world.
The Malaysia national beach soccer team represents Malaysia in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia, the governing body for football in Malaysia.
The 2016 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, also known as the 2016 CAF Beach Soccer Championship, was a beach soccer tournament which took place in Lagos, Nigeria in December, to determine the best beach soccer nation in Africa and doubles as a qualification event for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, with the two finalists progressing to the finals in the Bahamas. This was the first time that the tournament is held in Nigeria.
The following were the scheduled events of association football for the year 2018 throughout the world.
Beach Soccer Stars is an annual award ceremony in beach soccer organised by the sport's developmental body, Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW).
The following were the events of association football for the year 2019 throughout the world.
The 2018 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations was the third edition of the Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations (BSAFCON), the premier beach soccer championship in Africa contested by men's national teams who are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Originally organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) under the title FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup CAF qualifier, in 2015, CAF became organisers and began using the BSAFCON title to which the competition was officially renamed the next year. Overall, this was the 9th edition of the event.
The 2021 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations was the fourth edition of the Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations (BSAFCON), the premier beach soccer championship in Africa contested by men's national teams who are members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Originally organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) under the title FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup CAF qualifier, in 2015, CAF became organisers and began using the BSAFCON title to which the competition was officially renamed the next year. Overall, this was the 10th edition of the event.
