The Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) is an annual competition that brings together the best national beach soccer teams from Europe.
Euro Beach Soccer League is divided into two divisions: Division A and Division B, competing in a series of stages, known as the Regular Season. The top teams advance to the Superfinal (Post-Regular Season event) where the EBSL champion is crowned. With the 2024 Regular Season now complete in Nazaré, Portugal (Stage 4) in an exciting journey that has unfolded since Stage 1 in Tirrenia, Italy.
Let’s take a look back at the highlights from each stage and preview the upcoming Superfinal.
Regular Stages:
- Stage 1: Tirrenia, Italy (3–7 July)
The season kicked off in Tirrenia, featuring both the Division A and B teams. Switzerland, Denmark, Romania, France, Estonia, Czechia and the host Italy who emerged as Stage 1 winners all qualified for the Superfinal from Division A. Czechia and Lithuania finished 7th and 8th and were sent to the relegation play-off.
However, Romania who already qualified for the superfinal withdrew, and according to the regulations, if any team withdraw from the superfinal, stands automatically relegated. Therefore, Czechia entered the superfinal event as the 6th team.
In the lower Division, Greece edged out Malta and Norway to win Division B, earning promotion to the 2025 Euro Beach Soccer League Division A.
- Stage 2: Batumi, Georgia (17–21 July)
This stage, designated as a Division B event is also known as Batumi International Cup, as it featured guest nations, including Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The teams were divided into two group fixtures, with A exclusive for the Division B teams, including Georgia, Latvia, and Hungary. While Group B was for the guest nations.
Georgia went on to earn promotion to Division A after finishing top of the Group B table, while Ukraine claimed the stage winner’s trophy.
- Stage 3: Chișinău, Moldova (26–28 July)
This stage featured exclusive Division A teams, and Saudi Arabia as a guest nation and was held at the award-winning multi-purpose beach soccer arena. Moldova made history by winning their first Division A stage title and qualifying for the Superfinal alongside Poland.
Türkiye being the team finishing bottom of the Division A table in Chișinău, was to play in the relegation play-off, but since Romania and Lithuania had already withdrawn from the superfinal and the relegation play-off respectively, therefore, Türkiye will continue to play as a Division A team in the next season.
Saudi Arabia finished bottom of the table.
- Stage 4: Nazaré, Portugal (30 August – 1 September)
The final stage of the regular season saw Spain, Belarus, Germany and host Portugal already qualified for the Superfinal battling for the stage crown. Portugal went on to claim the trophy in Nazaré.
This stage also featured the regular season of the fourth edition of the Women’s Euro Beach Soccer League (WEBSL), which consists of a single round of fixtures, leading to the superfinal as the post-season event. While all the teams qualify for the superfinal event, the final standings of the regular season are used to determine the seedings for the Superfinal scheduled for Alghero, Italy.
Post-Season event:
- Superfinal Preview (Alghero, Italy (10–15 September)
The Superfinal will take place in Alghero from September 10 to 15 and will feature the top twelve ranking nations in the Division A league table battle for the title of the EBSL champion. The total of twelve teams in the superfinals event consists of Six teams from Stage 1 in Tirrenia, two from Moldova and four from Stage 4 held in Nazare, in a distribution made according to the final ranking at the end of the regular season.
The women’s event will feature all eight teams from the regular season, except Netherlands having withdrawn. Host Italy will complete the 8th team in the battle for the crown of the 2024 Women’s Euro Beach Soccer League of the season in Alghero.
Italy is the defending champions and will seek to retain their title, while Spain are the two-time champions of the WEBSL (2022, 2023).
Special acknowledgement to @alexandra_Babak for the support.
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Photo: BSWW
