France, Poland, Russia, and Hungary set to host the stages for this seasons continental league, and will determine who takes part in European Games Baku 2015
Excitement has reached a boiling point as the distribution of teams has been revealed for the core competition of the European summer: The Euro Beach Soccer League. The four regular phase stages will be played in Valence (France), Sopot (Poland), Moscow (Russia), and Siofok (Hungary), and will pass sentence on who goes to Torredembarra for the season Finale.
France will set the tone for the entire season, beginning on the 20th of June, with a spectacular array of Division A and Division B teams. Division A will have an eight team format and will include: France, Russia, Italy and The Netherlands (Group 1) and Poland, Belarus, Germany and Switzerland (Group 2).
June 27th will mark the start of the second stage in Poland. Sopot will be witness to emotional Division A games from eight teams: Spain, Switzerland, France and Ukraine (Group 1) and Poland, The Netherlands, Portugal and Romania (Group 2).
The defending EBSL champions, Russia, will host the next Division A and Division B stages from the 11th-13th of July, in Moscow. The four Division A teams will be: Russia, Belarus, Romania, and Spain.
At the same time, Division B will have its first stop in the Russian capital will have nail-biting matches from: Azerbaijan, Estonia, Greece, and Moldova.
The final Euro Beach Soccer League group stage before the much anticipated Superfinal and Promotion Final and in Torredembarra (Spain) will be in Hungary from the 8th-10th of August. Siofok is the last chance for Division A teams Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Ukraine, to secure a place in the Superfinal, and at the same time, it will be crucial for the final configuration of the Promotion final, with two goups.
In Group 1, the host nation will look to use their home-field advantage to overcome Andorra, the Czech Republic, and England to reach the Promotion Final, whereas the Group 2 pool will see Bulgaria, Israel, Norway, and Turkey vying for a ticket to Torredembarra.
The final party for the EBSL will take place, once again, in Spain starting on the 14th of August and ending on the 17th. The qualifiers for the Promotion Final will be the winners and runner-ups in each Division B stage, the best 3rd place team from all of the Division B events, and the last placed team in Division A. The Superfinal, instead, will include the best eight ranked teams after the whole season, in which each side will play two stages.
The events in Catania (Italy), and The Hague (The Netherlands) will not be happening, after the agreement with the National FAs, due to administrative reasons.
EBSL to decide who qualifies for Baku 2015
The Promotion Final and Superfinal will have a double value this season. Besides crowning a new continental champion and passing sentence on which teams stay in Division A and who obtains promotion to the top division, the season finale will also distribute the tickets to the first edition of the European Games, organized by the European Olympic Committee, to be held in Baku in June 2015.
The six best ranked teams in the Superfinal, plus the best Division B team in the Promotion Final (regardless it promotes or not).