Beach soccer

Beach soccer, also known as beach football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand.

The game emphasises skill, agility and shooting at goal.

Whilst football has been played informally on beaches for many years, the introduction of beach soccer was an attempt to codify rules for the game. This was done in 1992 by the founders of Beach Soccer Worldwide, a company set up to develop the sport and responsible for the majority of its tournaments to this day. This was a major foundation for what is now known as beach soccer and what has led to the sport rapidly growing in popularity.

The irregularity of the soft-sand playing surface leads to a totally different style of play than is used in football, with a greater degree of improvisation. The compact field, much smaller than a normal football field, allows players to score from anywhere on the sand, leading to an average of sixty attempts at goal in a single game. With an average of scoring rate of one goal every three or four minutes, around eleven goals are scored in total per game.

CONMEBOL Beach Soccer Championship

The CONMEBOL Beach Soccer Championship is the main championship for beach soccer in South America. In both 2005 and 2007, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL held joint championships. In 2007, the successful teams of the competition qualified to play in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, whereas the 2005 tournament was unattached from the world cup. This was not the way teams qualified for the 2005 world cup.

In 2006, when FIFA introduced the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers, the championship became the way to qualify for the World Cup, so CONCACAF and CONMEBOL held two separate championships. From 2008 onwards, due to the number of teams from each confederation trying to qualify, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have decided to always have separate championships.

Now that the World Cup takes place every two years, so will the qualifiers, starting with the qualifiers for the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The top three teams from the tournament qualify to play in the next FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship

The CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship is the main championship for beach soccer in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. In both 2005 and 2007, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL held joint championships. In 2007, the successful teams of the competition qualified to play in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, whereas the 2005 tournament was unattached from the World Cup. This was not the way teams qualified for the 2005 World Cup.

In 2006, when FIFA introduced the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers, the championship became the way to qualify for the World Cup, so CONCACAF and CONMEBOL held two separate championships. From 2008 onwards, due to the number of teams from each confederation trying to qualify, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have decided to always have separate championships.

Now that the World Cup takes place every two years, so will the qualifiers, starting with the qualifiers for the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The top two teams from the tournament qualify to play in the next FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.