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Campeonato de Futebol de Praia

Founded	2012; 12 years ago (2012)
Country	Portugal
Confederation	UEFA
Divisions	Campeonato Elite Campeonato Nacional
Number of clubs	8 (Elite) 26 (National)
Level on pyramid	1–2
Domestic cup(s)	Taça de Portugal Futebol Praia
International cup(s)	Euro Winners Cup Euro Winners Challenge
Current champions	Braga
Most championships	Braga (9 titles)
Website	Official website

The FPF Campeonato de Futebol de Praia (English: FPF Beach Soccer Championship) is a league competition for beach soccer clubs in Portugal. Organised by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) who also established the championship in 2012, it is the country's primary beach soccer club competition. The national league replaced a previous championship run by district associations as Portugal's paramount club tournament.

Held between May and September, the season is divided into two parts: the regular season followed by the post-season, with matches taking place across Portugal. Many of the world's best players compete in the championship.

Currently, the competition consists of two divisions: the Elite Championship, the top tier, disputed by the eight best teams who compete for the title – the winners are crowned league champions – and the National Championship, the second tier, open to all other clubs who compete for two promotion spots to the top division.

The top three teams qualify for the upcoming edition of the Euro Winners Cup (EWC); as of 2020, the league is ranked as the strongest in Europe by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW).

Braga are the most successful club with eight titles and are the current champions.

Previous national championships

The first incarnation of a national championship for Portuguese beach soccer clubs with recognition was originally known as the Liga de Clubes de Futebol de Praia and later the Campeonato Elite de Futebol de Praia, which ran from 2005–2011. However, it was not arranged by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF); the league was established as a result of cooperation between a number of District Football Associations (that of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém, Lisbon, Setúbal and Algarve).

In 2010, a second national league competition was also established which ran for two seasons, known as the Circuito Nacional de Futebol de Praia; unlike the former, this championship received the "institutional support" of the FPF however was still not organised by them – it was run by an independent event organiser.

During this time, there were calls for the FPF to establish their own, official championship. The FPF ultimately started the Campeonato Nacional de Futebol de Praia as the first official national league (that is to say, run by the country's national association) in 2012, superseding the above two de facto national championships which ceased.

Format

As of 2019; current format introduced in 2015 (with minor revisions since).

Overview

The championship consists of two championships/divisions; clubs can move between the divisions through a system of promotion and relegation:

1. Campeonato Elite (Elite Championship): the top tier, containing the eight best clubs. The teams in this division aim to win the title and avoid relegation.
2. Campeonato Nacional (National Championship): the lower tier, containing all other clubs of lesser quality that choose to enter the competition that season (26 teams in 2019), split into three geographical conferences (north, central and south zones) with approximately ten clubs in each. The teams in this division aim to be promoted to the Elite Championship.

Both championships are played in two phases; a regular season (May through August) and a post-season (August/September).

Elite Championship

• Regular season: The clubs play each other once (playing a total of seven matches each) over the course of seven match-days. On each match-day, the fixtures are held in one neutral location in which all eight clubs gather to contest their scheduled matches. This location changes each match-day. Points are earned for the championship table by winning matches.

At the end of the regular season, the top four teams, those occupying positions 1–4 in the table with the most points, advance to the Finals. The bottom four teams, those occupying positions 5–8 in the table with the least points, proceed to the relegation play-offs.

• Post-season: All eight clubs gather in one location for three consecutive days to compete in the post-season phase.

Finals: The four clubs play each other in a round robin format (playing a total of three matches each). The club with the most points at the completion of all fixtures are crowned league champions.

Relegation play-offs: The four clubs play each other in a round robin format (playing a total of three matches each). The two clubs with the most points at the completion of all fixtures retain their place in the Elite Championship for next season. The two clubs with the least points at the completion of all fixtures will be relegated to the National Championship for next season.

National Championship

• Regular season: The clubs play exclusively against the other members of their own conference, once (playing a total of nine matches each), over the course of nine match-days. On each match-day, the fixtures are held in three locations; one in the north, central and south of Portugal, in which all ten clubs of the corresponding conference gather together to contest their scheduled matches. Points are earned for their tables by winning matches. At the end of the regular season, the top two teams in each conferences, plus the best two third-place teams (total of eight clubs) advance to the Finals.
• Post-season: All eight clubs gather in one location for three consecutive days (the same location and dates as the Elite Division post-season events). The eight clubs play each other in a knockout tournament. The two clubs that reach the final are promoted to the Elite Championship for next season; the six clubs knocked out will remain in the National Championship for next season. The winners of the final are crowned National Championship winners.

Clubs

As of 2019

Key

■ – promoted at the end of 2019

■ – relegated at the end of 2019

Venues

Scheduled for use during the 2019 season for the Elite Division:

• Praia de Buarcos, Figueira da Foz (Matchday 1)
• Praia Da Apulia, Apúlia e Fão (Matchday 2)
• Campo de Praia Foz do Arelho, Foz do Arelho (Matchday 3)
• Praia Do Ouro, Sesimbra (Matchday 4)
• Parque Urbano Albarquel, Setúbal (Matchday 5)
• Estádio Do Viveiro, Nazaré (Matchday 6 & Finals)
• Estádio Desportos de Praia, Porto (Matchday 7)

Results

Elite Championship

The following lists the winners and runners-up of the top tier; the former are crowned Portuguese league champions.

Note: From 2010–2014 there was only one division comprising the league. Those results have been included as de facto Elite Division results.

Performance by club

National Championship

The second tier was introduced in 2015; the following lists the winners and runners-up. Both are promoted to the top tier.

Performance by club

Performance at the Euro Winners Cup

The Euro Winners Cup (EWC), held every May/June since 2013, is a competition contested by the best teams from Europe's domestic beach soccer leagues to determine a European club champion.

A club's final league position determines their qualification route to the EWC. The following table shows the history of qualification opportunities for Portuguese clubs:

Qualification history

Year	Final league position				Total clubs qualified
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th & below
2013–16	A	n/a			1
2017–18	A	PR			1+
2019–	A			PR	3+
Key: Qualification is... A Y Automatic. PR  Possible; club eligible to enter the preliminary round. n/a N Not possible. (Host club also qualifies automatically; From 2013–18, host country's league runners-up also qualified automatically.)

The following documents the performances of Portuguese clubs that have qualified for the EWC:

References

1. ^ "CAMPEONATO NACIONAL HISTÓRIA" (in Portuguese). Futebol de Praia Portugal. Archived from the original on 2020-01-21. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
2. "Crescimento da competitividade" (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
3. "BSWW опубликовала рейтинги клубов мира по итогам сезона-2019" (in Russian). Beach Soccer Russia. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
4. "Benfica Vencedor da Liga de Clubes de Futebol de Praia 2007" (in Portuguese). Futebol de Praia Portugal. 1 July 2007. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
5. "Campeonato de Elite de Futebol de Praia" (in Portuguese). cm-matosinhos.pt. 26 June 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
6. ^ "V. Setúbal campeão na praia" (in Portuguese). Record. 27 June 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
7. "Sporting bate V. Guimarães e conquista o título de elite" (in Portuguese). Record. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
8. "Organização" (in Portuguese). lcfutpraia.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
9. "1º Circuito Nacional de Futebol de Praia 2010" (in Portuguese). CNFP2010.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
10. "Futebol de praia: Três grandes entram no Circuito Nacional" (in Portuguese). Record. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
11. "Sporting de Braga sagra-se campeão de futebol de praia" (in Portuguese). cmjornal.pt. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
12. "Este Domingo, Vá À Praia! Vitória está na Final !" (in Portuguese). cmjornal.pt. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
13. "F. Praia: U. Leiria conquista título" (in Portuguese). Record. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
14. Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (20 March 2015). "CN Fut. Praia: Inscrições abertas". FPF.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
15. "Campeonato Elite Futebol Praia Clubes Participantes E Formato Prova Epoca 2018/19" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
16. "Campeonato Nacional Futebol Praia Formato Prova Epoca 2018/19" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
17. "EQUIPAS" (in Portuguese). Futebol de Praia Portugal. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
18. "DIVISÃO ELITE INICIA SÁBADO" (in Portuguese). Futebol de Praia Portugal. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
19. "Euro Winners Cup HISTÓRIA" (in Portuguese). Futebol de Praia Portugal. Archived from the original on 2020-01-21. Retrieved 14 November 2019.

External links

• Beach soccer in Portugal
• Sports competitions in Portugal
• National beach soccer leagues