The 2018 Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) was the 21st edition of the '' Euro Beach Soccer League'', the annual, premier competition in European

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an a ...

contested between men's national teams. It was organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), in a league and play-off format. This season, teams continued to take part in two divisions, the top tier (Division A) and the bottom tier (Division B). 12 teams continued to contest Division A, consisting of the top 11 finishers from last year plus

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

who were promoted to the top tier. Whilst Division B accommodated 15 nations: 13 nations who did not gain promotion from last season, Georgia who made their debut, plus

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

who were relegated from the top tier at the end of last season. No nations returned after an absence from competing in recent years, however, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who had competed in the last two seasons, did not enter this year. A total of five ''stages'' of fixtures were scheduled during the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

. Each team from Division A played in two stages whilst each team in Division B played in one. At each stage the participating nations earned points for the overall league tables. At the end of the regular season, according to the league tables, the eight best teams in Division A advanced to the

post-season The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

event, the Superfinal, to compete to become the winners of this year's EBSL. Meanwhile, the top seven teams in Division B (the four group winners and three best runners-up) and the team ranked bottom of Division A played in a different

event, the Promotion Final, to try to earn a spot in Division A next year. The top scorer of the 2002 season,

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

of Portugal, announced his retirement on 11 June; Alan competed in all 20 EBSL seasons since the inaugural edition in 1998, meaning this year marked the first EBSL season in which he did not feature. The league also acted as the qualification route to the

2019 European Games , translation: Time for bright victories! , nations participating = 50 , athletes participating = 4,082 , events = 200 in 15 sports , opening ceremony = 21 June , closing ceremony = 30 June , officially opened ...

; the top six teams of the Superfinal plus the Promotion Final winners qualified to joint hosts Belarus.

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the defending Division A team in the Promotion Final, beat

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in the final to win the event, therefore retaining their Division A status for next season.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

were the defending champions but were knocked out of title-winning contention in the group stage of the Superfinal, ultimately finishing fourth in the post-season event, just the second time (the other

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

), that Russia failed to finish in the top three. The concluding match of the Superfinal was contested between

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, who were looking to end 13 and 12-year waits since their last respective EBSL titles (2005 and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

). Italy, on home sand, won the match on penalties to claim their second European title.

Calendar and locations

The schedule was announced on 23 March. For the first time,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

hosted an EBSL regular season stage. It was also the first time since the 2013 season that no nations in Division B hosted a stage, only the second time this had occurred since divisions were introduced in 2002.

Teams

The following teams have entered this season, in the following divisions (12 in Division A, 15 in Division B). The numbers in parentheses show the European ranking of each team prior to the start of the season, out of 36 nations.

Division A

* (1st) * (2nd) * (3rd) * (4th) * (5th) * (6th) * (7th) * (8th) * (10th) * (12th) * (14th) * ¹ (15th)

Division B

* (9th) * (11th) * (13th) * ² (16th) * (17th) * (18th) * (19th) * (21st) * (22nd) * (23rd) * (24th) * (25th) * (26th) * (28th) * ³ (29th)

Notes: :

1. Promoted from Division B at the end of the 2017 season

2. Relegated from Division A at the end of the 2017 season

3. Teams making their debut

Stage 1 (Baku, 22–24 June)

''Matches are listed as local time in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

AZT Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mother-to-child ...

( UTC+4)''. All matches took place at the ''Baku Beach Arena'', part of the Flag Square cluster of the European Games Park in Sabail raion, with a capacity of 3,900. The stadium previously hosted the beach soccer event at the

2015 European Games The 2015 European Games, also known as Baku 2015 or Baku 2015 European Games ( az, Bakı 2015 Avropa Oyunları), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic ...

. There were no Division B fixtures during this stage.

Division A

Group 1

Group 2

Awards

The following were presented after the conclusion of the final day's matches.

Stage 2 (Nazaré, 6–8 July)

''Matches are listed as local time in Nazaré,

WEST West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

(

UTC+1 UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in: *Central European Time *West Africa Time *Western European Summer Time ** B ...

)'' All matches took place at the ''Estádio do Viveiro'' on Praia de Nazaré (Nazaré Beach), in tandem with the hosting of the

2018 Women's Euro Beach Soccer Cup The 2018 Women's Euro Beach Soccer Cup was the third edition of the ''Euro Beach Soccer Cup#Women's tournaments, Women's Euro Beach Soccer Cup'', an annual European beach soccer championship for women's national teams, organised by Beach Soccer Wo ...

. The stadium had recently been undergoing redevelopment, increasing its capacity from 1,600 to 2,200. However, one part of the stadium was still awaiting upgrades, meaning the new capacity figure was yet to be fully reached. During this round,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

won a stage title for the first time (in either division).

Division A

Division B

Group 1

Group 2

The Serbia vs. Estonia match was the first goalless draw in the 20-year history of the EBSL.

Awards

The following were presented after the conclusion of the final day's matches. Individual awards apply to Division A only.

Stage 3 (Moscow, 20–22 July)

''Matches are listed as local time in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, MSK (

UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...

)''. All matches took place at ''Yantar Beach Soccer Stadium'' in the district of Strogino, with a capacity of 2,500. This was the eighth time Moscow hosted an EBSL event, drawing level with

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

as the cities to host the most events in the league's history. During this round,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

won an EBSL stage title for the first time (in either division).

Division A

''Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Poland are ranked accordingly based on their three-way head-to-head results''

Division B

Awards

The following were presented after the conclusion of the final day's matches. Individual awards apply to Division A only.

Stage 4 (Minsk, 3–5 August)

''Matches are listed as local time in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

FET The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to control the flow of current in a semiconductor. FETs (JFETs or MOSFETs) are devices with three terminals: ''source'', ''gate'', and ''drain''. FETs contr ...

(

)''. All matches took place at the ''National Beach Soccer Stadium'', part of the Olympic Sports Complex in

Pyershamayski District Pyershamayski District ( be, Першамайскі, russian: Первомайский) is an administrative subdivision of the city of Minsk, Belarus. It was named after the First of May. with a capacity of 1,300. With construction beginning on 8 June, the stadium was a newbuild, commissioned specifically for the purpose of hosting the beach soccer event at the

; this stage was organised to take place in Minsk to serve as test event for the new venue ahead of the upcoming games. There were no Division B fixtures during this stage; this contributes to the fact this was the first stage to feature just four teams since the Moscow stage of the 2013 season.

Division A

Awards

The following were presented after the conclusion of the final day's matches.

Stage 5 (Warnemünde, 24–26 August)

''Matches are listed as local time in Warnemünde,

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(

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cape ...

)'' All matches took place on the site of the ''Sport & Beach Arena'' on Warnemünde Beach, at the purpose built '' DFB Beachsoccer Arena'', with a capacity of approximately 1,500 seats. Georgia made their EBSL debut during this stage, the 34th different nation to compete in the league. England claimed the Division B stage crown, meaning they won back-to-back second-tier titles for the first time.

Division A

Division B

Awards

The following were presented after the conclusion of the final day's matches. Individual awards apply to Division A only.

League tables

''At end of regular season'' Ranking & tie-breaking criteria: Division A – 1. Points earned 2. Goal difference 3. Goals scored , Division B – 1. Highest group placement 2. Points earned 3. Goal difference 4. Goals scored 5. Results against 4th place team

Division A

Division B

:Note: Since one group in Division B consisted of just three teams, for the teams who finished in 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a group of four, their results against the 4th placed team in their groups have been discounted. :Key: :Team group placement: 1st place / 2nd place / 3rd place / 4th place
(Q) – Qualified to Promotion Final as a group winner
(q) – Qualified to Promotion Final as a best group runner-up

Promotion Final (Alghero, 6–9 September)

''Matches are listed as local time in Alghero,

(

)'' All matches took place at a purpose built stadium on ''Spiaggia del Lido di San Giovanni'', with a capacity of approximately 1,500. The winners of the Promotion Final earned a place in Division A next season; they also qualified for the

. (Note two teams were ineligible to qualify to the European Games: Germany, as the team that finished 12th in Division A and Kazakhstan, who are not a member of the European Olympic Committees. In the event one of these teams was to win the Promotion Final, the next highest ranked eligible team would qualify in their place.)

Qualified teams

The teams in bold qualified as Division B regular season group winners; those in ''italics'' qualified as the three best group runners-up. The team in attempted to retain their position in Division A, having finished bottom of the regular season table. * * *¹ * *'' '' *'' '' *'' '' *² (Last place, Division A)

Notes: :

1. First appearance in Promotion Final

2. First appearance as defending Division A team in Promotion Final

Group stage

Group 1

Group 2

Play-off stage

Seventh place play-off

Fifth place play-off

Third place play-off

Promotion play-off final

Final standings

Germany won the event to retain their Division A status for the 2019 EBSL season; this was just the second time in ten attempts since the Promotion Final was introduced that the defending Division A team successfully won it to preserve their top tier membership (the other

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

). Consequently, no Division B team earned promotion to the top division and no Division A team was relegated this year. Romania claimed the single qualification berth to the 2019 European Games available in the Promotion Final as the highest ranked team eligible to qualify in the final standings.

Superfinal (Alghero, 6–9 September)

''Matches are listed as local time in Alghero,

(

)'' All matches took place at a purpose built stadium on ''Spiaggia del Lido di San Giovanni'', with a capacity of approximately 1,500. The winners of the Superfinal were crowned 2018 EBSL champions; the top six (excl. Belarus as they qualified automatically as Games hosts) also earned qualification to the

Qualified teams

The top eight teams from Division A, as per the end of regular season league table, qualified for the Superfinal. * * * * * * * (hosts) *¹

Notes: :

1. First appearance in Superfinal

Group stage

Group 1

Group 2

Play-off stage

Seventh place play-off

Fifth place play-off

Third place play-off

Superfinal match

=Post-match reactions

Awards

Winners trophy

Individual awards

''Awarded for feats achieved in the Superfinal only''

Final standings

Finalists Spain and Italy faced each other for the first time in an EBSL title-decider; both teams were appearing in their second finals (the others

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and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

respectively) since they each last won their most recent titles (

and

respectively). It was also just the second time (the other Spain vs. France,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

) that neither Russia nor Portugal reached the final. By winning the Superfinal, Italy ended a 13-year drought (the then current longest wait of any team with a previous title win) to claim their second EBSL crown; both titles were won on penalties. After nine successive wins, including claiming first place in the regular season, this was Spain's first loss of the season; their wait for a sixth title now continues into its 13th year. Belarus' 5th-place finish was their joint best result (with

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

); the sixth European Games qualifier was therefore decided in the seventh place play-off between Ukraine and Azerbaijan, won by the former.

Season statistics

Top scorers

The following tables list the top 12 scorers in each division, including goals scored in both the regular and post season events. Note there is no award presented for these season-encompassing scoring feats, the tables are for statistical purposes only. Scoring awards were bestowed per stage, with the primary award that which was presented in the Superfinal.

Division A

†. Includes 3 goals scored in the Promotion Final vs. Division B teams.

Division B

Source

Most assists

The following tables list the top 10 assistants in each division including assists provided in both the regular and post season events.

Division A

Division B

Source

Discipline

The following table lists the players and teams who received the most penalties for disciplinary infringements in each division in both the regular and post season events. Source
/small>

Calendar and locations

Teams

Division A

Division B

Stage 1 (Baku, 22–24 June)

Division A

Group 1

Group 2

Awards

Stage 2 (Nazaré, 6–8 July)

Division A

Division B

Group 1

Group 2

Awards

Stage 3 (Moscow, 20–22 July)

Division A

Division B

Awards

Stage 4 (Minsk, 3–5 August)

Division A

Awards

Stage 5 (Warnemünde, 24–26 August)

Division A

Division B

Awards

League tables

Division A

Division B

Promotion Final (Alghero, 6–9 September)

Qualified teams

Group stage

Group 1

Group 2

Play-off stage

Seventh place play-off

Fifth place play-off

Third place play-off

Promotion play-off final

Final standings

Superfinal (Alghero, 6–9 September)

Qualified teams

Group stage

Group 1

Group 2

Play-off stage

Seventh place play-off

Fifth place play-off

Third place play-off

Superfinal match

=Post-match reactions

Awards

Winners trophy

Individual awards

Final standings

Season statistics

Top scorers

Division A

Division B

Most assists

Division A

Division B

Discipline

References

External links