STATS Kit

FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Introduction 10 things you need to know about Beach Soccer 2 2
History 4 Winners at a glance..... 5 Competition records at a glance..... 5 Ranking by tournament..... 5 Awards..... 6 Team 7 Most participations..... 7 Most goals per team..... 7 Biggest wins..... 7 Highest Scores (most goals per match)... 7 Consecutive wins..... 7 Consecutive defeats..... 7 Matches won from four goals down.... 7 Matches won from three goals down.... 7 Matches won from two goals down.... 8 Teams involved in penalty shoot-outs.... 8 Matches with most red cards.... 8 Matches with most yellow cards..... 8 Players 8 Most appearances.... 8 Most goals..... 9 Most goals in a match..... 9 Hat tricks..... 9 Oldest player..... 9 Oldest scorer..... 9 Youngest player..... 10 Youngest scorer..... 10 Coach / Referee 10 Most matches as coach.... 10 Most matches as referee.... 10 Beach Soccer World Championships 1995-2004 11
Content Management Services post event stats kit of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009

Introduction

Beach soccer matches are highly entertaining affairs that feature a constant flow of spectacular plays. As it is difficult to roll the ball on the sand, the strategy naturally shifts toward flicks, tricks, volleys and bicycle kicks. The sport embraces both the lifestyles commonly associated with beaches (family recreation, youth culture, fitness, fashion) and a variety of American sporting influences, such as cheerleaders performing amidst the action, adding an air of glamour.
10 things you need to know about Beach Soccer

1. The pitch

Consisting, unsurprisingly, of sand, levelled and free of any obstacles that could present an injury risk for the players, a beach soccer playing area must have a minimum depth of 40 cm. Between 35 and 37 meters in length, pitches are between 26 and 28 meters wide. The goals are 2.20 meters high by 5.50 meters wide. The halfway line is demarcated by two posts with red flags. Nine meters out from the goal lines, an imaginary line, marked this time by posts with yellow flags, indicates the penalty area and therefore the spot from where penalties will be taken (at the central point on this line). Finally, there is a substitution zone alongside the touchline.

2. The ball

Although of a circumference identical to a normal football (between 68 and 70 cm), a beach soccer ball is considerably lighter. Weighing from 400 to 440 grams, it is inflated just before game time to a pressure of between 0.4 and 0.6 bars.

3. The players

In beach soccer there are five players on the pitch for each team, one of whom is a goalkeeper. Five additional players are permitted on the substitutes bench (4 field players and one goal keeper). An unlimited number of substitutions (including the goalkeepers) can be made at any moment during the match. Beach soccer players are not allowed to play in shoes. They must play barefoot.

4. The goalkeeper

They can pick up the ball within the penalty area and are permitted to wear gloves and a tracksuit.

5. The officials

Each match has two referees, both of whom have equal authority to apply the Laws of the Game. In addition, a third referee and a timekeeper are stationed at the timekeepers table, which is on the halfway line on the same side as the substitution zone.

6. Playing time

Matches are played over three equal periods of 12 minutes of effective playing. The time is stopped when a goal is scored, when the referee blows the whistle for a penalty or direct free kick, when a player is injured, or when a team is trying to stall (in the view of the officials). There is a 3-minute interval between each period. In the event of a draw, a three-minute extra time period will be played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the score remains even.

7. Touch

Players must put the ball back into play within five seconds either by throwing or kicking it to a team-mate. Goalkeepers can only restart play with a throw-in.

8. Very direct

There are no indirect free kicks in beach soccer. All free kicks are direct and taken from the spot where the foul has been committed, or from the halfway line (for certain offences such as stalling for more than five seconds in the penalty area, a second pass to the goalkeeper, or play being restarted by a kick from the goalkeeper). A penalty is awarded if the foul is committed inside the penalty area.

9. No walls

Defensive walls are not permitted at free kicks. The player who has been fouled must take the free kick (except he is seriously injured, in which case his substitute will take it). If the foul has been committed on the infringed players half of the pitch, all players other than the kicker must remain at least five meters from the ball, but not directly between the ball and the goal. If the foul has been committed in the oppositions half of the field, all players must remain behind the ball.

10. Colour scheme

For certain serious fouls, a player may be shown a yellow card. For very serious offences or after a second caution, a player will be punished with a red card and must return to the changing rooms immediately. After two minutes with a 1player disadvantage, the infringing players team may bring on a new player.
See also: Beach Soccer Laws of the Game: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/beachsoccerlawsofthegame-e_6232.pdf Regulations FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/09/70/46/regulationsfbswcdubai2009_e.pdf

History

Over the past decade, beach soccer has journeyed from the beaches of Brazil to the hearts of millions of fans all over the globe. The participation of internationally renowned players such as the Brazilian Junior Negao, Portugals Alan and Madjer and the Spanish star Amarelle has helped to expand television coverage to large audiences in over 170 countries worldwide, making beach soccer one of the fastest growing professional sports in the world and converting it into a major source of international commercial opportunity. Beach soccer had been played recreationally all over the world for many years and in many different formats, but it was not until 1992 that the Laws of the Game were envisaged and a pilot event staged in Los Angeles. The following summer, the first professional beach soccer competition was organised at Miami Beach, with teams from the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Italy taking part in what would turn out to be a historic event. In April 1994, the first event to be covered by network television was held on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro and the city hosted the inaugural Beach Soccer World Championship a year later. The competition was won by the host nation, making Brazil the first ever world champions of beach soccer. The success of the tournament saw international interest begin to match developments on the pitch and growing demand for the sport around the world gave rise to the Pro Beach Soccer Tour in 1996. The first Pro Beach Soccer Tour included a total of 60 games in two years across South America, Europe, Asia and the USA, attracting major names both on and off the pitch. Interest generated by the tour in Europe led to the creation of the European Pro Beach Soccer League (EPBSL) in 1998, providing a solid infrastructure that would increase the professionalism of the spectacle at all levels. The EPBSL, now known as the Euro BS League, united promoters from across the continent and satisfied the demands of the media, sponsors and fans. Only four years on from its creation, the successful first step in the building of a legitimate worldwide competition structure for the sport of pro beach soccer had been taken. The next four years would see this growth consolidated by further progress both on and off the pitch, with the Euro BS League emerging as the strongest pro beach soccer competition in the world. By 2004, some 17 nations had entered teams, and by 2005 this had risen to 20, leading to more than 70 countries looking to stage events. In 2005, beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family, and the first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was staged on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. To everyones surprise, France defeated Portugal in the final, while hot favourites Brazil fell in the semis. However, the following year, at the first tournament to feature 16 nations, the Auriverde avenged the previous years loss. In the final of the competition, they were never in any real trouble against Uruguay as they proceeded to claim their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Eric Cantonas Bleus, meanwhile, triumphed in the third-place play-off, again at the expense of Portugal. Brazil were the big winners at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio 2007. The hosts and title holders swept all before them, not only winning the tournament at a canter but also coming away with all of the other trophies on offer. Marseille is a long, trans-Atlantic journey away from the Copacabana beach on which Brazil won the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2006 and 2007, but the formidable Seleo undid Italy to emerge atop of the podium once again on Prado beach in 2008. Bronze went to Portugal, who edged an enticing duel with Spain to return home with their heads held high. There is no team in the world that can play beach soccer quite like Brazil. The South Americans proved that point once again at Dubai 2009, dominating the week-long tournament from start to finish to lift their fourth consecutive FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup trophy. Not even tournament revelations Switzerland could contain them in the final. By the time the third period got under way, the Europeans were trailing 8-1, though that should not detract from a magnificent weeks work by a vibrant Swiss side making their first appearance in the tournament.

Winners at a glance

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Marseille, France Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Brazil Switzerland 10:5 (4-1, 4-0, 2-4) Brazil Italy 5-3 (1-0, 3-0, 1-3) Mexico Brazil 2-8 (0-2, 1-4, 1-2) Uruguay Brazil 1-4 (0-1, 1-1, 0-2) France Portugal 3-3 (1-0, 1-0, 1-3) 1-0 PSO

Winners

Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil France
Competition records at a glance
CONMEBOL CONCACAF UEFA OFC AFC CAF

Matches

Spectators
UAE France Brazil Brazil Brazil TOTAL

20 148

164 1254
8.88 8.09 8.16 8.94 8.20 8.47
97'500 176'500 157'300 179'800 110'500 721'600
3'047 5'516 4'916 5'619 5'525 4'876

Ranking by tournament

Year 2005 Host UAE France Brazil Brazil Brazil 1 BRA BRA BRA BRA FRA 2 SUI ITA MEX URU POR 3 POR POR URU FRA BRA 4 URU ESP FRA POR JPN 5 JPN ARG SEN ARG URU 6 ESP RUS NGA BHR UKR 7 RUS URU ESP CAN ESP 8 ITA FRA POR JPN ARG 9 ARG SEN RUS NGA AUS 10 UAE UAE ITA ESP USA 11 CIV MEX IRN POL THA 12 NGA SOL ARG SOL RSA 13 SOL IRN USA USA 14 SLV SLV UAE CMR 15 CRC JPN JPN ITA 16 BHR CMR SOL IRN

Awards

Year 2005

adidas Golden Shoe

Dejan STANKOVIC (SUI), 16 goals MADJER (POR), 13 goals BURU (BRA), 10 goals MADJER (POR), 21 goals MADJER (POR), 12 goals
adidas Golden Ball Dejan STANKOVIC (SUI) AMARELLE Ramiro, ESP BURU, BRA Brazil MADJER, POR MADJER, POR
adidas Golden Glove MAO, BRA Roberto VALEIRO (ESP) -
FIFA Fair Play Japan, Russia Russia Brazil France Japan
The adidas Golden Shoe award goes to the top goalscorer of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Assists serve as a tie-breaker with the FIFA Technical Study Group deciding whether an assist is to be counted as such. The assists will only be counted if two or more players are equal on goals scored. The adidas Golden Ball is always awarded to the most outstanding player. The adidas Golden Glove is awarded to the best goalkeeper. The FIFA Fair Play award is given to the team with the best record of fair play according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee.

Team Most participations

5 Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay

Most goals per team

Brazil Portugal Uruguay France Spain Italy Japan Argentina

Biggest wins

06.11.2006 09.11.2006 15.05.2005 02.11.2007 19.07.2008 05.11.2006 Solomon Islands Portugal 2-14 Brazil Canada 12-1 Japan Brazil 2-11 Brazil Solomon Islands 11-2 Solomon Islands Portugal 4-13 Brazil Japan 10-2

Highest Scores (most goals per match)
22.11.2009 08.11.2007 19.07.2008 06.11.2006 07.11.2006 16.11.2009 04.11.2006 19.07.2008 18.11.2009 22.11.2009 Portugal Uruguay Brazil Portugal Solomon Islands Portugal Solomon Islands Portugal Brazil USA Brazil Nigeria Uruguay Solomon Islands Senegal Uruguay Spain Cte dIvoire Brazil Switzerland 14-7 10-7 4-13 2-14 10-6 11-5 10-5 7-8 9-6 10-5

Consecutive wins

Brazil Brazil (2007-2009) (2005-2007)

Consecutive defeats

Japan Solomon Islands (2006-2009) (2006-2008)
Matches won from four goals down
Cte d'Ivoire from 1-5 v El Salvador 7-6 (16.11.2009)
Matches won from three goals down
Portugal from 0-3 v. UAE 7-5 (16.11.2009)
Matches won from two goals down
Spain Japan France Nigeria Brazil Uruguay Brazil Senegal Mexico Mexico Brazil from 1-3 v. Cte d'Ivoire from 0-2 v. Uruguay from 0-2 v. Spain from 1-3 v. Italy from 1-3 and 2-4 v. Portugal from 0-2 v. Italy from 2-4 v. Mexico from 3-5 v. Italy from 0-2 v. Spain from 0-2 v. Japan from 0-2 v. Russia 9-6 4-3 7-4 4-3 7-4 3-2 6-4 6-5 5-4 4-3 6-4 (18.11.2009) (12.05.2005) (03.11.2006) (04.11.2006) (11.11.2006) (03.11.2006) (04.11.2006) (07.11.2007) (08.11.2007) (18.07.2008) (24.07.2008)
Teams involved in penalty shoot-outs
France Portugal Uruguay Russia Nigeria Iran (3 wins -4 losses) (2 wins - 1 loss) (2 wins - 1 loss) (O win - 3 losses) (2 wins - 1 loss) (0 win 3 losses)
Matches with most red cards
10.05.2005 08.11.2007 France (1) Argentina (2) Spain (3) Mexico (0)
Matches with most yellow cards
5 10.05.2005 07.11.2006 06.11.2007 08.11.2007 16.11.2009 16.11.2009 18.11.2009 10.05.2005 02.11.2007 03.11.2007 03.11.2007 04.11.2007 05.11.2007 17.07.2008 19.07.2008 France (5) Argentina (7) Poland (3) Japan (3) USA (2) Portugal (4) Spain (2) Mexico (4) UAE (4) Portugal (2) Cote d'Ivoire (2) El Salvador (4) Costa Rica (4) Italy (1) Uruguay (3) Ukraine (2) Brazil (2) Solomon Islands (3) UAE (2) France (3) Japan (2) Senegal (3) Iran (2) USA (3) Argentina (2) UAE (3) France (2) Senegal (3) Solomon Islands (3) Portugal (2)

Players Most appearances

BENJAMIN, BRA BETINHO, BRA ALAN, POR MADJER, POR BURU, BRA PICAR, URU PARRILLO, URU BRUNO, BRA

Most goals

MADJER, POR BRUNO, BRA BURU, BRA) BENJAMIN, BRA ALAN, POR AMARELLE, ESP RICAR, URU BELCHIOR, POR ANDRE, BRA Jeremy BASQUAISE, FRA

Most goals in a match

5 MADJER, POR MADJER, POR Ludovic EHOUNOU, CIV MADJER, POR MADJER, POR Boguslaw SAGANOWSKI, POL ALAN, POR Jeremy BASQUAISE, FRA BENJAMIN, BRA BURU, BRA Pape KOUKPAKI, SEN MADJER, POR MADJER, POR James NAKA, SOL James NAKA, SOL Roberto PASQUALI, ITA Morgan PLATA, MEX Didier SAMOUN, FRA Sipho SIBIYA, CAN Dejan STANKOVIC, SUI Dejan STANKOVIC, SUI 22.11.2009 04.11.2006 16.11.2009 08.11.2007 19.07.2008 07.11.2006 19.07.2008 19.07.2008 05.11.2006 17.11.2009 19.07.2008 14.05.2005 06.11.2006 02.11.2006 21.07.2008 20.11.2009 10.11.2007 03.11.2007 03.11.2006 17.11.2009 21.11.2009

History

Over the past decade, beach soccer has journeyed from the beaches of Brazil to the hearts of millions of fans all over the globe. The participation of internationally renowned players such as the Brazilian Junior Negao, Portugals Alan and Madjer and the Spanish star Amarelle has helped to expand television coverage to large audiences in over 170 countries worldwide, making beach soccer one of the fastest growing professional sports in the world and converting it into a major source of international commercial opportunity. Beach soccer had been played recreationally all over the world for many years and in many different formats, but it was not until 1992 that the Laws of the Game were envisaged and a pilot event staged in Los Angeles. The following summer, the first professional beach soccer competition was organised at Miami Beach, with teams from the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Italy taking part in what would turn out to be a historic event. In April 1994, the first event to be covered by network television was held on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro and the city hosted the inaugural Beach Soccer World Championship a year later. The competition was won by the host nation, making Brazil the first ever world champions of beach soccer. The success of the tournament saw international interest begin to match developments on the pitch and growing demand for the sport around the world gave rise to the Pro Beach Soccer Tour in 1996. The first Pro Beach Soccer Tour included a total of 60 games in two years across South America, Europe, Asia and the USA, attracting major names both on and off the pitch. Interest generated by the tour in Europe led to the creation of the European Pro Beach Soccer League (EPBSL) in 1998, providing a solid infrastructure that would increase the professionalism of the spectacle at all levels. The EPBSL, now known as the Euro BS League, united promoters from across the continent and satisfied the demands of the media, sponsors and fans. Only four years on from its creation, the successful first step in the building of a legitimate worldwide competition structure for the sport of pro beach soccer had been taken. The next four years would see this growth consolidated by further progress both on and off the pitch, with the Euro BS League emerging as the strongest pro beach soccer competition in the world. By 2004, some 17 nations had entered teams, and by 2005 this had risen to 20, leading to more than 70 countries looking to stage events. In 2005, beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family, and the first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was staged on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. To everyones surprise, France defeated Portugal in the final, while hot favourites Brazil fell in the semis. However, the following year, at the first tournament to feature 16 nations, the Auriverde avenged the previous years loss. In the final of the competition, they were never in any real trouble against Uruguay as they proceeded to claim their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Eric Cantonas Bleus, meanwhile, triumphed in the third-place play-off, again at the expense of Portugal. Brazil were the big winners at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio 2007. The hosts and title holders swept all before them, not only winning the tournament at a canter but also coming away with all of the other trophies on offer. Marseille is a long, trans-Atlantic journey away from the Copacabana beach on which Brazil won the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2006 and 2007, but the formidable Seleo undid Italy to emerge atop of the podium once again on Prado beach in 2008. Bronze went to Portugal, who edged an enticing duel with Spain to return home with their heads held high.
FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
IP-210_01E-FBS_08/09_xx09/05 1/2
In general terms, the quality of play on offer was of a noticeably higher standard than last time out, continuing the upward trend that has been evident each year since 2005. Brazils troubled route to glory was in itself sufficient evidence of that, with Italy providing courageous opposition in the showpiece match, Portugal proving unlucky in the last four and even Russia coming close to upending the beach soccer kings in the quarter-finals. The competitions first voyage beyond Brazilian shores must go down as a remarkable success. Little by little, it has forced its way into the reckoning as one of the most significant events in the sporting calendar since its inception four years ago to the extent that the growing army of beach soccer enthusiasts can hardly wait to watch the worlds finest talents reconvene in Dubai in 2009.