2002 Euro Beach Soccer League
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Portugal (1st title)| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 June – 7 September |
| Teams | 10 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 11 (in 11 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Portugal (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Spain |
| Third place |  France |
| Fourth place |  Turkey |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 67 |
| Goals scored | 733 (10.94 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Alan |
| Best player(s) |  Gianni Fruzzetti |
| Best goalkeeper | Roberto Valeiro |
← 2001 2003 → | |
Southern Group events
Northern Group events
SuperfinalThe 2002 Euro Beach Soccer League, was the fifth edition of the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL), the premier beach soccer competition contested between European men's national teams, known as the European Pro Beach Soccer League at the time, occurring annually since its establishment in 1998. The league was organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) between June 1 and September 7, 2002 in nine different nations across Europe.
This season BSWW introduced Divisions to the EBSL for the first time; the nations of the league were split into two groups based on similar levels of ability. These groups were known as the Southern and Northern groups, named so after the roughly similar geographical locations in Europe the nations in the respective divisions could be found. The Southern group consisted of the best 4 nations of the EBSL and was considered as the top division. Whilst the Northern group consisted of the other teams of lesser ability and was considered the lower division of the two. The difference in abilities of the two divisions was reflected in there being less Superfinal qualification spots available for the Northern group.[1]
Each team competed in their respective division/group to try and earn a place in the season-finale event, the Superfinal, in which the league title was then contested directly.[2]
Spain entered the competition as three-time defending champions. However it was Portugal, who having finished runners-up in the league for the last two years, finally found success and claimed their maiden European title by beating the Spanish in the final.[3][4]
The league also doubled as the qualification process for the 2003 Beach Soccer World Championship. The nations finishing in first, second and third place qualified.[5]
Superfinal berths
This season 10 nations took part in the Euro Beach Soccer League whom were and were distributed as follows. Despite the names of the groups following the rough geographical locations of the teams in Europe, Turkey was a notably clear exception in the "Northern" group.
Southern Group (Top Division, 4) |
Northern Group (Lower Division, 6)
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Following on from the maiden Superfinal last season, the season-ending event was expanded from four teams to six teams. The table summarises in what positions nations needed to finish in their respective divisions/groups in order to qualify to the Superfinal and what round of the Superfinal they would enter finishing in said positions.
Allocations:[6]
The amount of qualification spots available in the Superfinal from each division reflected the abilities of the nations in the respective groups.
- The Southern Group, consisting of the best teams of the EBSL, was awarded four Superfinal berths (with only four teams in the group, all teams automatically qualified - the teams played in their group to try and finish in the top two positions in order to earn the two berths straight into the Superfinal semi-finals)
- The Northern Group, in being considered the lower division, received just two berths
| # | Position in Division | Group | Round entered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winner | Southern | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Runner-up | ||
| 3 | Third place | Quarter-finals | |
| 4 | Fourth place | ||
| 5 | Winner | Northern | |
| 6 | Runner-up | ||
Southern Group (Top Division)
The Southern Group consisted of four rounds of fixtures known as stages, with one stage hosted in each of the four countries participating as shown. All four teams took part in each. In each stage, the teams played each other once. The nation who earned the most points at the end of the stage was crowned stage winners.
At the end of the four stages all results were tallied up in a final league table.
Stage 1
The first stage took place in Marseille, France. Spain finished as victors in the opening round.
Matches
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Final standings
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Stage 2
The second stage took place in Carcavelos, Portugal. The hosts claimed their first stage of the season.
Matches
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Final standings
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Stage 3
The third stage took place in Rome, Italy. Portugal followed up their first stage win with a second crown here.
Matches
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Final standings
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Stage 4
The fourth stage took place in El Arenal, Mallorca, Spain. The final stage was claimed by France.
Matches
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Final standings
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Final table
All four teams automatically qualified to the Superfinal. Finishing first and second earned those teams byes straight into the semi-finals of the Superfinal, whilst the lower positioned teams in third and fourth were entered into the quarter-finals
Portugal were crowned winners of the group and earned the bye into the Superfinal semi-finals along with runners-up Spain.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal |
12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 27 | Advance to Superfinal semi-finals |
| 2 | Spain |
12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 23 | |
| 3 | France |
12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 56 | 65 | –9 | 12 | Advance to Superfinal quarter-finals |
| 4 | Italy |
12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 35 | 60 | –25 | 6 |
