A dive into the evolution of the Euro Winners Cup
Beginning in 2013, the Euro Winners Cup has become a staple of the Beach Soccer season as Europe’s elite compete for the illustrious prize of becoming the best clubs in the continent.
The competition has had 14 different winners across the men’s and women’s events, as the competition has seen incredible growth in participation in recent years – from 20 clubs in the inaugural competition to a combined 54 teams in the most recent edition.
In the 2013 edition of the competition hosted in St. Benedetto del Tronto, Italy, men’s clubs battled for continental glory as Lokomotiv Moscow came out on top to become champions of Europe. In the most recent edition of the men’s competition, it was Falfala Kafr Qassem BSC who lifted the trophy after a penalty shootout victory over Lenergy Pisa.
BSC Kristall are the most successful club in the history of the men’s competition, securing four Euro Winners Cup titles so far (2014, 2015, 2020 and 2021). Braga follow shortly behind the Russian club as the second most successful club in the competition with three trophies to their name, and are the only other club to have won more than one Euro Winners Cup. The two teams have faced each other three times in the final – all between 2018 and 2021.
Following multiple successful editions of the men’s competition, Beach Soccer Worldwide decided to expand on the competition as the Women’s Euro Winners Cup began in 2016. The main aim of the competition was to continue the development of women’s beach soccer, which has since seen significant growth.
Grasshopper Club Zurich were the first champions of the women’s competition, as Higicontrol are the current defending champions. In the history of the women’s competition, there have been a total of eight different title winners which also includes BSC Havana Shots Aargau (2017), WFC Zvezda (2018), Playas de San Javier (2019), Mriya-2006 (2020), Madrid CFF (2021) and Terrassa Bonaire (2022). Spanish clubs have been the most successful at the tournament, winning four titles between them.
After the first three events took place in Italy, Nazaré has since become the stage for Euro Winners Cup action. Hosting seven competitions so far since 2017, the Portuguese town has played a vital part in the competition’s success. Named after the Best Men’s Player of 2019, Jordan Santos, the Estadio do Viveiro – Jordan Santos has hosted the most men’s and women’s Euro Winners Cup competitions and the 2024 edition of the tournaments will take place at the great venue once again for the eighth successive time.
This year’s competitions will take place between the 9th and 16th June, as clubs will battle for continental glory once again!
