STORE 
MY BEACH SOCCER 
National team representatives present and discuss the development of Women’s Beach Soccer
As part of the Own The Sand campaign, a dedicated conference was held during the El Salvador Beach Soccer Cup, bringing together representatives from national teams to present, analyse and debate the growth of women’s beach soccer worldwide.
The initiative, launched under the banner of Empowerment, Visibility and Equality for Women’s Beach Soccer, was welcomed by representatives of local beach soccer clubs and provided a platform to share strategies, experiences and long-term visions for the development of the women’s game.
Local growth driven by structured development
Rene Reyes, Technical Coordinator of the Liga de Futbol Playa in El Salvador, highlighted the significant progress achieved through the work of INDES.
He revealed that the domestic league has grown from 8 teams and 163 players in 2021 to 15 teams and 448 players in 2026, underlining the impact of structured investment and long-term planning in the women’s game.
Brazil’s pathway: from grassroots to elite
Representing the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation), Lavoisier Freire outlined a period of restructuring within Brazilian beach soccer, with a strong focus on the women’s programme.
At the core of this strategy is the “Em Busca do Oro” project (looking for gold), designed to identify, develop and integrate young female athletes into the sport through five regional centres. The initiative focuses on talent identification, technical development, social inclusion and national team progression, while also promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange between national teams.
To date, the programme has engaged over 900 athletes, including 210 from vulnerable backgrounds, with the ambition of launching the first official women’s beach soccer championship organised by the CBF by 2027.
Freire also emphasised the importance of coach education, particularly in adapting expertise from the men’s game to meet the specific demands of women’s beach soccer.
Portugal’s structured approach to long-term growth
Madjer, Technical Coordinator at the Portuguese Football Federation, shared insights into Portugal’s five-year development journey in the women’s game, which culminated in last year’s Euro Beach Soccer League title.
With 186 registered players, including 33 dedicated exclusively to beach soccer, Portugal continues to build a sustainable pathway by encouraging a gradual transition of athletes from football and futsal into the sand discipline—highlighting the performance benefits across all formats.
Madjer also underlined the importance of:
- Balancing the integration of international talent with opportunities for local players
- Developing multi-purpose sand facilities
- Increasing the number of female referees
- Conducting scientific analysis of the physical demands of beach soccer athletes
All efforts are guided by the federation’s motto: “For more talent in Portugal”.
The conference reinforced the collective commitment of federations and stakeholders to accelerating the growth of women’s beach soccer, positioning the sport for a stronger and more inclusive future on the global stage.
