The 2023 Euro Winners Cup was the eleventh edition of the Euro Winners Cup (EWC), an annual continental beach soccer tournament for men's top-division European clubs. The championship is viewed as beach football's rudimentary version of the better known UEFA Champions League in its parent sport, association football.[1]

2023 Euro Winners Cup
Tournament details
Host countryPortugal
Dates9–18 June
Teams52 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)4 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsIsrael Kfar Qassem (1st title)
Runners-upItaly Pisa 2014
Third placePortugal O Sótão
Fourth placeSpain Huelva
Tournament statistics
Matches played117
Goals scored990 (8.46 per match)
2022
2024

Organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), the tournament was held in Nazaré, Portugal from 9–18 June.[2]

Following a preliminary qualification round, the event began with a round robin group stage. At its conclusion, the best teams progressed to the knockout stage, a series of single elimination games to determine the winners, starting with the Round of 32 and ending with the final. Consolation matches were also played to determine other final rankings.

Benfica Loures of Portugal were the defending champions but did not enter this year due to financial restraints.[3] The tournament was won by Kfar Qassem of Israel who claimed their first title.[4]

Teams

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Qualification

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The number of clubs entitled to enter automatically from each country depends on the perceived strength of their country's national league. BSWW determine the strength of each league by analysing the performance of all clubs in the EWC on a country-by-country basis over the previous five editions. A points-based ranking is produced from the data with the best performing nations permitted to enter multiple clubs.[2][5]

Any and all clubs that do not qualify automatically, and/or are surplus to their countries allocated quotas, are entitled to enter the accompanying Euro Winners Challenge (preliminary round) to take place in the days prior to the competition proper, as a last opportunity to qualify for the EWC group stage; the best four clubs will qualify.[2][5]

In accordance with sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, clubs from Russia remain banned from entering this year.[6][7][8][9]

Entrants

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52 clubs from 21 different nations entered the event – 36 entered straight into the group stage, 16 entered into the preliminary round.[5]

SA MVR of Bulgaria originally entered the EW Challenge and were present for the draw but subsequently withdrew and were replaced by Leixões of Portugal.

Key: H: Hosts \ TH: Title holders

Group stage
  Portugal (5) ACD O Sótão (H)   France (3) AS Étaples   England (1) Isle of Wight
Braga La Grande-Motte Pyramide   Estonia (1) Nõmme
GRAP Marseille BT   Czech Republic (1) Bohemians 1905
Nacional   Ukraine (2) Artur Music   Slovakia (1) Hustý
Varzim VIT Kyiv   Georgia (1) Telavi
  Spain (3) Huelva   Belgium (2) ES Brainoise   Latvia (1) Riga
Levante Newteam Brussels   Malta (1) Ta' Xbiex
Marbella   Greece (2) Atlas AO   Cyprus (1) Paphos
  Germany (3) Beach Royals Düsseldorf Napoli Patron
Real Münster   Turkey (1) Alanya Belediyespor
Rostocker Robben   Israel (1) Kfar Qassem
  Italy (3) Naxos   Bulgaria (1) Spartak Varna
Pisa 2014   Moldova (1) Nistru Chișinău
Viareggio   Romania (1) West Deva
Euro Winners Challenge (preliminary round)
  Portugal (8) ACD O Sótão B   France (2) Marseille Minots
Benfica Viseu SM Jalles
Buarcos 2017   Belgium (2) Genappe
Leixões Perwez
Nazaré 2022   Greece (1) AO Kefallinia
São Domingos   Moldova (1) Ghidighici
Sesimbra   England (1) Portsmouth
Vilaflor   Finland (1) Miehet

Draw

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The draw to split the 36 clubs into nine groups of four, and 16 clubs into four groups of four for the group and preliminary stages respectively, took place on 18 May.[5][10][11][12]

Euro Winners Challenge (preliminary round)

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Group stage

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The designation of "home" and "away" teams displayed in the results matrices is for administrative purposes only.

Matches took place from 9 to 11 June.

Key
  • Walkover
  • * – Extra-time result
  • – Match decided by penalty shootout

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VIL BUA KEF MIE
1   Vilaflor 3 3 0 0 0 18 5 +13 9 Knockout stage 3−1 9–0
2   Buarcos 2017 3 2 0 0 1 18 12 +6 6 4−6 5–2
3   AO Kefallinia 3 1 0 0 2 8 12 −4 3 5−4
4   Miehet 3 0 0 0 3 8 23 −15 0 4−9
Source: BSWW

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LEI NAZ SES POR
1   Leixões 3 3 0 0 0 21 7 +14 9 Knockout stage 9−3
2   Nazaré 2022 3 2 0 0 1 11 9 +2 6 3–5 3−2
3   Sesimbra 3 1 0 0 2 10 16 −6 3 2−5 5–2
4   Portsmouth 3 0 0 0 3 5 15 −10 0 1−7
Source: BSWW

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GEN SMJ VIS SAO
1   Genappe 3 2 0 1 0 10 6 +4 7 Knockout stage 5−2
2   SM Jalles 3 2 0 0 1 10 10 0 6 6−4
3   Benfica Viseu 3 1 0 0 2 9 9 0 3 3−4 1–2
4   São Domingos 3 0 0 0 3 8 12 −4 0 1–1 3−5
Source: BSWW

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MMS ACD PER GHI
1   Marseille Minots 3 3 0 0 0 15 6 +9 9 Knockout stage 3−0
2   ACD O Sótão B 3 2 0 0 1 12 8 +4 6 5–7 4−1
3   Perwez 3 1 0 0 2 5 9 −4 3 1−5 3−0
4   Ghidighici 3 0 0 0 3 0 9 −9 0 Withdrew 0−3
Source: BSWW

Knockout stage

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Key
  • w/o – Walkover (awarded as 3–0)
  • np – not played
Fifth place5th–8th place semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
13 June; Report
  Marseille Minots9
14 June; Report  SM Jalles514 June; Report
  SM Jalles4  Marseille Minots (a.e.t.)9
  Leixões713 June; Report  Buarcos 20176
  Leixões1
15 June; Report  Buarcos 2017415 June; Report
  Leixões1  Marseille Minots9
  Vilaflor413 June; Report  ACD O Sótão B5
  Genappe2
14 June; Report  ACD O Sótão B414 June; Report
Seventh place  Genappe3 (3)  ACD O Sótão B (p)3 (3)Third place
15 June; Report  Vilaflor (p)3 (5)13 June; Report  Nazaré 20223 (1)15 June; Report
  SM Jalles3  Vilaflor4  Buarcos 20174
  Genappe6  Nazaré 20227  Nazaré 20226

Group stage

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Matches take place from 12 to 14 June.

All group winners, runners-up and third-placed teams, along with the best fourth-placed team, progressed to the knockout stage.

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PAF ACD NAX WDA
1   Pafos 3 3 0 0 0 21 8 +13 9 Knockout stage 3−2
2   ACD O Sótão (H) 3 2 0 0 1 20 9 +11 6 12−3 6−3
3   Naxos 3 1 0 0 2 10 26 −16 3 2−10
4   West Deva 3 0 0 0 3 11 19 −8 0 4−8 4−5
Source: BSWW
(H) Host

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BRA BOH NOM TEL
1   Braga 3 3 0 0 0 23 3 +20 9 Knockout stage 5−1 13−1
2   Bohemians 1905 3 2 0 0 1 10 8 +2 6 4−1
3   Nõmme 3 1 0 0 2 9 10 −1 3 1−5
4   Telavi 3 0 0 0 3 4 25 −21 0 2−5 1−7
Source: BSWW

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ART VAR MAR TAX
1   Artur Music 3 3 0 0 0 22 6 +16 9 Knockout stage 10−1
2   Varzim 3 2 0 0 1 17 8 +9 6 1−5 8−2
3   Marbella 3 1 0 0 2 18 17 +1 3 4−7 12−2
4   Ta' Xbiex 3 0 0 0 3 4 30 −26 0 1−8
Source: BSWW

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MAR RIG ESB BRD
1   Marseille BT 3 2 0 0 1 10 4 +6 6 Knockout stage 2−3
2   Riga 3 2 0 0 1 8 5 +3 6 0−3
3   ES Brainoise 3 2 0 0 1 7 7 0 6 1−5 3−2
4   Beach Royals Düsseldorf 3 0 0 0 3 0 9 −9 0 Withdrew 0−3 0−3
Source: BSWW

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PIS ROS VIT GRA
1   Pisa 2014 3 3 0 0 0 16 7 +9 9 Knockout stage 5−2 6−1
2   Rostocker Robben 3 2 0 0 1 17 14 +3 6 6−5
3   VIT Kyiv 3 0 0 1 2 15 17 −2 1 4−5
4   GRAP 3 0 0 0 3 11 21 −10 0 4−9 6–6
Source: BSWW

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LEV NAC NEW HUS
1   Levante 3 3 0 0 0 17 4 +13 9 Knockout stage 3−1 6−1
2   Nacional 3 2 0 0 1 12 11 +1 6 2−8
3   Newteam Brussels 3 1 0 0 2 10 11 −1 3 2−6 7−2
4   Hustý 3 0 0 0 3 4 17 −13 0 1−4
Source: BSWW

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HUE MUN GMP NIS
1   Huelva 3 2 0 0 1 18 14 +4 6 Knockout stage 7−3
2   Real Münster 3 2 0 0 1 14 10 +4 6 3−4
3   La Grande-Motte Pyramide 3 1 0 0 2 14 13 +1 3 3−4 8−2
4   Nistru Chișinău 3 1 0 0 2 13 22 −9 3 8−7 3−7
Source: BSWW

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KQM NPN VAR IOW
1   Kfar Qassem 3 3 0 0 0 19 5 +14 9 Knockout stage 6−0 6−3
2   Napoli Patron 3 2 0 0 1 12 13 −1 6 7−3
3   Spartak Varna 3 1 0 0 2 13 12 +1 3 4−5 6−1
4   Isle of Wight 3 0 0 0 3 6 20 −14 0 2−7
Source: BSWW

Group I

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Pos Team Pld W W+ WP L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ATL VIA ETA ALA
1   Atlas AO 3 2 1 0 0 18 7 +11 8 Knockout stage 6−5* 5−1
2   Viareggio 3 2 0 0 1 18 9 +9 6 9−0 4−3
3   AS Étaples 3 1 0 0 2 6 19 −13 3 1−7
4   Alanya Belediyespor 3 0 0 0 3 7 14 −7 0 3−5
Source: BSWW

Knockout stage

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The draw for the round of 32, and allocation of ties to the bracket, took place after the conclusion of all group stage matches on 14 June.[13]

Round of 32

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  Matches double as EW Challenge semi-finals

Matches took place on 15 June (save for the Challenge matches which took place on 14 June).

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Pisa 2014   5–2   Spartak Varna
Rostocker Robben   3–4   Marbella
Atlas AO   6–5   Newteam Brussels
Marseille BT   3–2   La Grande-Motte Pyramide
Braga   14–2   AS Étaples
Varzim   6–2   ES Brainoise
Artur Music   8–1   Nõmme
ACD O Sótão   6–3   Nacional
Levante   6–2   Nistru Chișinău
Huelva   4–3 (a.e.t.)   Riga
Pafos   3–7   VIT Kyiv
Viareggio   9–0   Napoli Patron
Kfar Qassem   5–3   Naxos
Real Münster   4–2   Bohemians 1905
Marseille Minots   9–6   Buarcos 2017
ACD O Sótão B   3–3 (a.e.t.)
3–1 (p)
  Nazaré 2022

Round of 16 onwards

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  Match doubles as EW Challenge final

Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemi-finalsFinal
16 June; Report
  Pisa 20144
16 June; Report
  Marbella3
  Pisa 20143
16 June; Report
  Atlas AO1
  Atlas AO9
17 June; Report
  Marseille BT5
  Pisa 20143
16 June; Report
  ACD O Sótão2
  Braga8
16 June; Report
  Varzim1
  Braga2
16 June; Report
  ACD O Sótão3
  Artur Music3 (4)
18 June; Report
  ACD O Sótão (p)3 (5)
  Pisa 20142 (3)
16 June; Report
  Kfar Qassem (p)2 (5)
  Levante3
16 June; Report
  Huelva4
  Huelva63rd place match
16 June; Report
  VIT Kyiv218 June; Report
  VIT Kyiv (p)4 (4)
17 June; Report  ACD O Sótão3
  Viareggio4 (3)
  Huelva2  Huelva2
16 June; Report
  Kfar Qassem4
  Kfar Qassem6
16 June; Report
  Real Münster5
  Kfar Qassem95th–8th semi-finals5th place match
15 June; Report
  Marseille Minots217 June; Report
  Marseille Minots            9  
  Atlas AO3
  ACD O Sótão B               5  18 June; Report
  Braga5
  Braga7
17 June; Report
  VIT Kyiv8
  VIT Kyiv8
  Marseille Minots4
7th place match
18 June; Report
  Atlas AO7
  Marseille Minots2

Awards

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The following individual awards were presented after the final.[4]

Top scorer(s)
  Bokinha (  Atlas AO)
18 goals
Best player
  Bruno Xavier (  Pisa 2014)
Best goalkeeper
  Eliott Mounoud (  Kfar Qassem)

Top goalscorers

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Players with at least five goals are listed; goals scored in the Euro Winners Challenge matches are not included.

18 goals
  •   Bokinha (  Atlas AO)
15 goals
  •   Gerlan Silva (  Huelva)
14 goals
  •   Edson Hulk (  Pafos)
12 goals
11 goals
10 goals
8 goals
  •   Alisson (  Viareggio)
  •   Sameh Moreb (  Kfar Qassem)
  •   Maksym Voitok (  VIT Kyiv)
  •   Konstantinos Tsitsaris (  Atlas AO)
  •   Duarte Vivo (  ACD O Sótão)
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals

Source: BSWW

Final standings

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Rank Team Result
1   Kfar Qassem Champions (1st title)
2   Pisa 2014 Runners-up
3   ACD O Sótão Third place
4   Huelva
5   VIT Kyiv
6   Braga
7   Atlas AO
8   Marseille Minots
9–16   Artur Music Eliminated in the Round of 16
  ACD O Sótão B
  Levante
  Marbella
  Marseille BT
  Real Münster
  Varzim
  Viareggio
17–32
  AS Étaples Eliminated in the Round of 32
  Bohemians 1905
  Buarcos 2017
  ES Brainoise
  Grande-Motte Pyramide
  Nacional
  Napoli Patron
  Naxos
  Nazaré 2022
  Newteam Brussels
  Nistru Chișinău
  Nõmme
  Pafos
  Riga
  Rostocker Robben
  Spartak Varna

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Euro Winners Cup 2015 to be biggest yet". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 21 May 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "The Euro Winners will return to Nazaré in 2023". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Campeão europeu de futebol de praia desiste de competir e lança desafio ao Benfica". Record (in Portuguese). 13 January 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Falfala KQ BSC crowned Euro Winners Cup 2023 champions!". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "Euro Winners Cup 2023 groups drawn". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Decision of the UEFA Executive Committee related to Russia" (PDF). UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. 28 February 2022. p. 2. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Measures taken by BSWW after the attacks on Ukraine". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Утверждён список мужских и женских команд Euro Winners 2022" [The list of men's and women's teams of Euro Winners 2022 has been approved]. Beach Soccer Russia (in Russian). 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Состоялась жеребьёвка Euro Winners Cup 2023 – пляжный футбол на BSRussia". BS Russia (in Russian). 19 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  10. ^ Whitmore, Warren (19 May 2023). "Isle Of Wight Beach Soccer Team Face Challenging Draw In Euro Winners Cup Finals". Island Echo. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Futebol Praia conheceu sorteio da 'Euro Winners Cup' - Clube Desportivo Nacional - Madeira". Clube Desportivo Nacional (in Portuguese). 18 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  12. ^ Busuttil, Antoine (19 May 2023). "Beach Soccer: Ta' Xbiex SC to represent Malta in Euro Winners Cup". maltafootball.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Euro Winners Cup 2023 is ready for the knockout stage". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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