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.

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. 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, domestic beach soccer advancement in Europe has seen the tournament rapidly expand; in 2017, BSWW introduced a preliminary qualifying round, open to all clubs not automatically qualified for the competition proper. 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.

Braga (Portugal) and Kristall (Russia) are the most successful clubs with four titles apiece; the former are also the current champions.

Organisation

Founding

Template:Multiple image 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.

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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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	Template:Flagicon San Benedetto, Italy	20		Lokomotiv Moscow Template:Flagicon	3–0	Template:Flagicon Griffin Kyiv		Beşiktaş Template:Flagicon	3–1	Template:Flagicon Grasshoppers
2014	Template:Flagicon Catania, Italy	25		Kristall Template:Flagicon	2–0	Template:Flagicon Milano		Braga Template:Flagicon	4–1	Template:Flagicon Sable Dancers Bern
2015	Template:Flagicon Catania, Italy	28		Kristall Template:Flagicon	6–2	Template:Flagicon Catania		Vybor Template:Flagicon	Template:Nowrap	Template:Flagicon Lokomotiv Moscow
2016	Template:Flagicon Catania, Italy	32		Viareggio Template:Flagicon	Template:NowrapTemplate:Ref label	Template:Flagicon Artur Music		Braga Template:Flagicon	5–4	Template:Flagicon Catania
2017	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	54		Braga Template:Flagicon	8–5	Template:Flagicon Artur Music		Lokomotiv Moscow Template:Flagicon	5–4	Template:Flagicon Delta Saratov
2018	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	58		Braga Template:Flagicon	Template:Nowrap	Template:Flagicon Kristall		KP Łódź Template:Flagicon	4–3	Template:Flagicon Lokomotiv Moscow
2019	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	60		Braga Template:Flagicon	6–0	Template:Flagicon KP Łódź		Levante Template:Flagicon	7–6	Template:Flagicon Delta Saratov
2020	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	27		Kristall Template:Flagicon	Template:Nowrap	Template:Flagicon Braga		Real Münster Template:Flagicon	7–6	Template:Flagicon Marbella
2021	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	50		Kristall Template:Flagicon	6–3	Template:Flagicon Braga		San Francisco Template:Flagicon	7–4	Template:Flagicon Real Münster
2022	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	60		Benfica Loures Template:Flagicon	3–1	Template:Flagicon Braga		Kfar Qassem Template:Flagicon	7–2	Template:Flagicon Grande-Motte Pyramide
2023	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	52		Kfar Qassem Template:Flagicon	Template:Nowrap	Template:Flagicon Pisa		O Sótão Template:Flagicon	3–2	Template:Flagicon Huelva
2024	Template:Flagicon Nazaré, Portugal	56		Braga Template:Flagicon	5–3	Template:Flagicon Pisa		O Sótão Template:Flagicon	7–4	Template:Flagicon Huelva

Performance

Successful clubs

Select members of Kfar Qassem pose with the winners trophy and medals at a reception with Isaac Herzog at Beit HaNassi following their victory in 2023.

Team	Winners	Runners-up	Third place
Template:Flagicon Braga	4 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2024)	3 (2020, 2021, 2022)	2 (2014, 2016)
Template:Flagicon Kristall	Template:Nowrap	1 (2018)	–
Template:Flagicon Kfar Qassem	1 (2023)	–	1 (2022)
Template:Flagicon Lokomotiv Moscow	1 (2013)	–	1 (2017)
Template:Flagicon Benfica Loures	1 (2022)	–	–
Template:Flagicon Viareggio	1 (2016)	–	–
Template:Flagicon Pisa	–	2 (2023, 2024)	–
Template:Flagicon Artur Music	–	2 (2016, 2017)	–
Template:Flagicon KP Łódź	–	1 (2019)	1 (2018)
Template:Flagicon Catania	–	1 (2015)	–
Template:Flagicon Milano	–	1 (2014)	–
Template:Flagicon Griffin Kyiv	–	1 (2013)	–
Template:Flagicon O Sótão	–	–	2 (2023, 2024)
Template:Flagicon San Francisco	–	–	1 (2021)
Template:Flagicon Real Münster	–	–	1 (2020)
Template:Flagicon Levante	–	–	1 (2019)
Template:Flagicon Vybor	–	–	1 (2015)
Template:Flagicon Beşiktaş	–	–	1 (2013)

Successful nations

Nation	Winners	Runners-up	Third place
Template:POR	5	3	4
Template:RUS	5	1	1
Template:ITA	1	4	0
Template:ISR	1	0	1
Template:UKR	0	3	1
Template:POL	0	1	1
Template:ESP	0	0	2
Template:GER	0	0	1
Template:TUR	0	0	1

Awards

Year	Top goalscorer(s)	Gls	Best player	Best goalkeeper	Ref.
2013	Template:Flagicon Dejan Stankovic (Template:Flagicon Grasshoppers)	13	Template:Flagicon Egor Shaykov (Template:Flagicon Lokomotiv Moscow)	Template:Flagicon Vitalii Sydorenko (Template:Flagicon Griffin Kyiv)	[1]
2014	Template:Flagicon Léo Martins (Template:Flagicon Milano)	13	Template:Flagicon Bruno Xavier (Template:Flagicon Kristall)	Template:Flagicon Dona (Template:Flagicon Braga)	[2]
2015	Template:Flagicon Ihar Bryshtel (Template:Flagicon Vybor)	14	Template:Flagicon Datinha (Template:Flagicon Kristall)	Template:Flagicon Simone Del Mestre (Template:Flagicon Catania)	[3]
2016	Template:Flagicon Gabriele Gori (Template:Flagicon Viareggio)	18	Template:Flagicon Rodrigo (Template:Flagicon Catania)	Template:Flagicon Vitalii Sydorenko (Template:Flagicon Artur Music)	[4]
2017	Template:Flagicon Gabriele Gori (Template:Flagicon Viareggio)	18	Template:Flagicon Mauricinho (Template:Flagicon Braga)	Template:Flagicon Vitalii Sydorenko (Template:Flagicon Artur Music)	[5]
2018	Template:Flagicon Llorenç Gómez (Template:Flagicon Kfar Qassem)	16	Template:Flagicon Mauricinho (Template:Flagicon Kristall)	Template:Flagicon Dona (Template:Flagicon Braga)	[6]
2019	Template:Flagicon Gabriele Gori (Template:Flagicon Artur Music)	26	Template:Flagicon Jordan Santos (Template:Flagicon Braga)	Template:Flagicon Dariusz Słowiński (Template:Flagicon KP Łódź)	[7]
2020	Template:Flagicon Llorenç Gómez (Template:Flagicon Artur Music)	22	Template:Flagicon Mauricinho (Template:Flagicon Kristall)	Template:Flagicon Rafa Padilha (Template:Flagdeco Braga)	[8]
2021	Template:Flagicon Bernardo Lopes (Template:Flagicon GRAP)	18	Template:Flagicon Mauricinho (Template:Flagicon Kristall)	Template:Flagicon Maxim Chuzhkov (Template:Flagicon Kristall)	[9]
2022	Template:Flagicon Filip Filipov (Template:Flagicon Husty)	17	Template:Flagicon Luís Henrique (Template:Flagicon Benfica Loures)	Template:Flagicon Elinton Andrade (Template:Flagicon Benfica Loures)	[10]
2023	Template:Flagicon Bokinha (Template:Flagicon Atlas AO)	18	Template:Flagicon Bruno Xavier (Template:Flagicon Pisa)	Template:Flagicon Eliott Mounoud (Template:Flagicon Kfar Qassem)	[11]
2024	Template:Flagicon Chiky Ardil (Template:Flagicon O Sótão)	15	Template:Flagicon Filipe Silva (Template:Flagicon Braga)	Template:Flagicon Leandro Casapieri (Template:Flagicon Pisa)	[12]

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		$n$	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, 24.

Timeline

Template:Diagonal split header	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Total
Template:Flagicon Azerbaijan	1	×	1	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	2
Template:Flagicon Belarus	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	×	×	×	×	1	8
Template:Flagicon Belgium	×	×	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	2	2	1	15
Template:Flagicon Bulgaria	×	1	1	1	1	1	1	×	1	1	1	1	10
Template:Flagicon Cyprus	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	1	2
Template:Flagicon Czech Republic	×	1	1	×	×	1	1	×	1	1	1	1	8
Template:Flagicon Denmark	×	×	×	1	×	1	1	×	1	1	×	×	5
Template:Flagicon England	1	1	1	2	1	×	1	1	×	1	1	×	10
Template:Flagicon Estonia	×	1	1	1	1	1	1	×	×	1	1	×	8
Template:Flagicon Finland	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	1	×	1	3
Template:Flagicon France	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	4	3	20
Template:Flagicon Georgia	×	×	1	1	1	1	1	×	2	×	1	1	9
Template:Flagicon Germany	×	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	2	4	3	3	21
Template:Flagicon Greece	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	1	15
Template:Flagicon Hungary	1	1	1	1	1	×	1	×	×	×	×	1	7
Template:Flagicon Israel	1	1	×	1	1	1	×	×	2	2	1	2	12
Template:Flagicon Italy	3	3	3	3	2	3	1	×	1	2	3	4	28
Template:Flagicon Kazakhstan	×	1	1	×	1	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	4
Template:Flagicon Latvia	1	1	×	1	1	1	1	×	×	×	1	1	8
Template:Flagicon Lithuania	×	×	×	1	×	1	×	×	×	1	×	×	3
Template:Flagicon Malta	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	×	1
Template:Flagicon Moldova	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	14
Template:Flagicon Netherlands	1	1	×	1	1	1	1	×	×	×	×	1	7
Template:Flagicon Norway	×	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	×	×	×	×	1
Template:Flagicon Poland	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	×	×	1	×	×	13
Template:Flagicon Portugal	1	1	1	1	4	5	10	7	17	9	8	4	68
Template:Flagicon Romania	×	×	1	1	1	1	×	1	×	1	1	1	8
Template:Flagicon Russia	1	2	2	3	5	2	5	2	4	••	••	••	26
Template:Flagicon Slovakia	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	1	1	1	3
Template:Flagicon Spain	1	1	2	1	2	2	3	2	5	3	3	3	28
Template:Flagicon Sweden	×	×	×	×	1	×	×	1	2	1	×	1	6
Template:Flagicon Switzerland	1	1	1	2	1	×	1	1	×	×	×	1	9
Template:Flagicon Turkey	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	×	×	1	1	1	11
Template:Flagicon 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	36	412
Total countries	18	22	23	25	25	24	24	13	16	22	21	23	–

See also

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

External links

• Beach Soccer Worldwide, official website