2002 Beach Soccer World Championship

2002 Beach Soccer World Championship
VIII Beach Soccer World Championships 2002

Tournament details
Host country	Brazil
Dates	13 – 20 January
Teams	8 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Brazil (7th title)
Runners-up	Portugal
Third place	Uruguay
Fourth place	Thailand
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	145 (9.06 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Neném Madjer Nico (9 goals)
Best player	Neném
Best goalkeeper	Vilarb Nomcharoen

The 2002 Beach Soccer World Championship was the eighth edition of the Beach Soccer World Championships, the most prestigious competition in international beach soccer contested by men's national teams, organised by Koch Tavares in a supervising partnership with Beach Soccer Worldwide, which ultimately came under the control of FIFA in 2005 and subsequently rebranded as the better known FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

The tournament continued to change its location, this time being staged for the first time at two venues, in Vitória, (Espírito Santo) and Guarujá, (São Paulo). In addition, the number of participating teams was reduced back to eight, as it was during the first three editions.

Brazil beat defending champions Portugal 6–5 in the final to reclaim the title, winning their seventh crown in eight attempts.

Organization

The format reverted to how the competition was organised from 1995 to 1997. After three years as a twelve team tournament, the number of participants was reduced back to eight as it were originally, competing in two groups of four teams, with the top two teams progressing straight to the semi-finals.

Despite the tournament being held in two locations, in reality only one match, the opening fixture between Brazil and Thailand, was staged in Vitória whilst the other fifteen were held in Guarujá.

Teams

Qualification

European teams gained qualification by finishing in the top three spots of the 2001 Euro Beach Soccer League. The winners, runners up and third placed nations in the previous World Cup were also asked back for their performances a year earlier. Reigning champions Portugal had already gained their spot through being runners-up in the EBSL however runners-up of last years World Cup France (who did not finish in the top three of the ESBL) and third placed Argentina gained their spots this way.^[1] The other entries received invites.

Africa, North America and Oceania were unrepresented.