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.
Results tableYearWinnersRunners-upRef.YearWinnersRunners-upRef.Campeonato Elite de Futebol de Praia Circuito Nacional de Futebol de Praia2005PortoSporting CP —2006BenficaSporting CP2007BenficaUnião de Leiria2008Vitória de SetúbalUnião de Leiria2009União de LeiriaRio Ave2010Vitória de SetúbalPorto2010Sporting CPBenfica2011Sporting CPVitória de Guimarães2011Vitória de GuimarãesSporting CP
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:
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
Elite Championship Alfarim Braga CB Loures GR Amigos Paz Leixões Nacional Sesimbra Sporting CP
National Championship
North zone Academia Elite Sport Âncora Praia Boavista Chafé Chaves Salgueiros 08 Varzim
Central zone ACD O Sótão Belenenses Biblioteca IR Buarcos 2017 CB Caldas Rainha Chelas Estoril Praia GR Olival Basto Porto Mendo Sporting CP B
South zone Barreiro SZ Charneca Caparica Costa Caparica Cova da Piedade Marítimo Praia Milfontes Quinta do Conde São Domingos Zambujalense
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.
Season Winners Runners-up 2010 Sporting CP SL Benfica 2011 Vitória SC Sporting CP 2012 Belenenses ACD O Sótão 2013 Braga Estoril Praia 2014 Braga Sporting CP 2015 Braga Sporting CP 2016 Sporting CP Braga 2017 Braga Sporting CP 2018 Braga Sporting CP 2019 Braga Sporting CP 2020 Sporting CP Braga 2021 Braga Casa Benfica de Loures 2022 Braga Casa Benfica de Loures 2023 Braga ACD O Sótão 2024 Braga ACD O Sótão 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 TeamTitlesRunners-upYears wonYears runner-up Braga10 2 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 20242016, 2020 Sporting CP3 5 2010, 2016, 2020 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019Vitória SC 1 0 2011 – Belenenses 1 0 2012 – ACD O Sótão 0 3 – 2012, 2023, 2024 Casa Benfica de Loures 0 2 – 2021, 2022SL Benfica 0 1 – 2010 Estoril Praia 0 1 – 2013
National Championship The second tier was introduced in 2015; the following lists the winners and runners-up. Both are promoted to the top tier. Season Winners Runners-up 2015 Varzim Casa Benfica de Loures 2016 Nacional Vila Franca Rosario 2017 Leixões Varzim 2018 Alfarim Sesimbra 2019 ACD O Sótão GD Chaves 2020 Varzim Buarcos 2017 2021 Leixões São Domingos de Setúbal 2022 GD Chaves Belenenses 2023 AD Nazaré 2022 Vila Flor SC 2024 Ericeirense Alfarim
Performance by club TeamTitlesRunners-upYears wonYears runner-up Varzim 2 1 2015, 2020 2017 Leixões 2 0 2017, 2021 –GD Chaves 1 1 2022 2019 Alfarim 1 1 2018 2024 Nacional 1 0 2016 – ACD O Sótão 1 0 2019 – AD Nazaré 2022 1 0 2023 – Ericeirense 1 0 2024 –Casa Benfica de Loures 0 1 – 2015Vila Franca Rosario 0 1 – 2016Sesimbra 0 1 – 2018Buarcos 2017 0 1 – 2020 São Domingos de Setúbal 0 1 – 2021 Belenenses 0 1 – 2022 Vilar Flor SC 0 1 – 2023
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 historyYearFinal league positionTotal clubsqualified1st2nd3rd4th & below2013–16A colspan="3" 12017–18APR1+2019–APR3+Key: Qualification is...
(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:
+ KeyC Champions Round of 162nd Runners-up R32 Round of 323rd Third place GS Group stage4th Fourth Place • Did not participate Quarter-finals Host club / country
Team \ Years 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Total ACD O Sótão • • • • 15th GS GS 7th 7th GS 3rd 3rd 8 ACD O Sótão B • • • • • • • GS R32 • • •2 AD Nazaré 2022 • • • • • • • • • • • GS1 Alfarim • • • • • • GS • • • • •1 Belenenses GS • • • • • • • GS • • •2 Braga • 3rd 5th 3rd C C C 2nd 2nd 2nd 6th C11 Buarcos 2017 • • • • • • GS • R32 GS • •3 Caxinas • • • • • • • • GS • • •1 CB Loures • • • • • GS R32 • 15th C • •4 CB Caldas da Rainha • • • • • • • • 16th • • •1 Chaves • • • • • • • • GS • • •1 CF Chelas • • • • • • GS • • • • •1 Costa Caparica • • • • • • GS • • • • •1 GR Amigos Paz • • • • • GS • GS 12thGS GS GS6 Nacional • • • • GS • GS • GS • R32 •4 Os Nazarenos • • • • • • • 11th GS • • •2 Porto Mendo • • • • • • • • GS • • •1 São Domingos • • • • • • • • • GS • •1 Sesimbra • • • • • • GS • GS GS • •3 Sporting CP • • • • 7th 5th 11th 9th R32 11th • •6 Varzim • • • • • • • • R32 GS R16 •3 Vila Flor • • • • • • • • GS • • •1Portuguese teams 1 1 1 1 4 5 10 6 17 9 5 4
References
External links
Elite Championship Elite, at Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) Divisao Elite, at Football de Praia Portugal
National Championship Nacional, at Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) Divisao Nacional, at Football de Praia Portugal lang|pt}}