The continental league will be composed by two regular-phase stages plus the Superfinal and Promotion Final
Beach Soccer worldwide is thrilled to announce the structure of the 2019 Euro Beach Soccer League. Just as it happens every year in which the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and the European Games take place, the continental league will go this year two a 2+1 format: two regular phase stages plus the Superfinal and Promotion Final stage.
Twelve teams will vie in Division A to see who takes the continental crown, now in Italy’s hands after their brilliant win in Alghero last year. The contenders in the top division of the EBSL are: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Belarus, Switzerland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, France, Poland, Turkey and Germany, who defended their place in Europe’s beach soccer elite in 2018’s Promotion Final.
Instead, in Division B, 16 teams (still with the possibility to increase that number) will fight for the chance to promote to Division A: Romania, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Hungary, England, Norway, Moldova, Serbia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, Lithuania, Georgia, Netherlands and the newcomers Finland, who join the continental league this season.
Our beloved Nazaré (Portugal), just as the last two seasons, will host one of the regular phase stages, to take place between the 5th and 7th of July. The Estadio do Viveiro will be the host of the first battle, with two Division A Groups and one from Division B.
Portugal, Switzerland, Ukraine and Poland will go in Group 1, whereas Spain, Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey will combat in Group 2. Instead, Bulgaria, Norway, Denmark and Georgia will battle for the first chance to qualify for the Promotion Final.
An old acquaintance will become the next stop of the Euro Beach Soccer League. Catania, in Italy, comes back to the continental showdown with a stage involving 16 teams, with one Division A group and three groups from Division, in an event that will take place between the 16th and 18th of August.
The teams competing in the Sicilian resort, home to one Euro Beach Soccer League stage, one Euro Beach Soccer League Superfinal and three Euro Winners Cups, will be Italy, Belarus France and Germany (Division A) and Romania, Serbia, Greece, Finland (Group 1), Kazakhstan, England, Czech Republic, Netherlands (Group 2), and Hungary, Moldova, Estonia and Lithuania (Group 3) in the Division B pool.
The seven best teams of Division A plus Portugal, as the hosts, will qualify for the Euro Beach Soccer League Superfinal, which will take place in another of beach soccer’s preferred destinations, Figueira da Foz, in Portugal, between the 5th and 8th of September. The winners of each group in Division B, plus the best three second-ranked sides will fight, together with the worst-ranked team in Division A, in the Promotion Final, where we will get to know who earns a place in the European elite for the 2020 season.
The schedules for each of the competitions will be announced in due date, so stay tuned to beachsoccer.com for new updates!
