Campeonato de Futebol de Praia


The FPF Campeonato de Futebol de Praia is a league competition for beach soccer clubs in Portugal. Organised by the Portuguese Football Federation who also established the championship in 2012, it is the country's primary beach soccer club competition. The national league replaced a previous championship run by district associations as Portugal's paramount club tournament.
Held between May and September, the season is divided into two parts: the regular season followed by the post-season, with matches taking place across Portugal. Many of the world's best players compete in the championship.
Currently, the competition consists of two divisions: the Elite Championship, the top tier, disputed by the eight best teams who compete for the title – the winners are crowned league champions – and the National Championship, the second tier, open to all other clubs who compete for two promotion spots to the top division.
The top three teams qualify for the upcoming edition of the Euro Winners Cup ; as of 2020, the league is ranked as the strongest in Europe by Beach Soccer Worldwide.
Braga are the most successful club with eight titles and are the current champions.

Previous national championships

The first incarnation of a national championship for Portuguese beach soccer clubs with recognition was originally known as the Liga de Clubes de Futebol de Praia and later the Campeonato Elite de Futebol de Praia, which ran from 2005–2011. However, it was not arranged by the Portuguese Football Federation ; the league was established as a result of cooperation between a number of District Football Associations.
In 2010, a second national league competition was also established which ran for two seasons, known as the Circuito Nacional de Futebol de Praia; unlike the former, this championship received the "institutional support" of the FPF however was still not organised by them – it was run by an independent event organiser.
During this time, there were calls for the FPF to establish their own, official championship. The FPF ultimately started the Campeonato Nacional de Futebol de Praia as the first official national league in 2012, superseding the above two de facto national championships which ceased.

Format

''As of 2019; current format introduced in 2015.''

Overview

The championship consists of two championships/divisions; clubs can move between the divisions through a system of promotion and relegation:
Both championships are played in two phases; a regular season and a post-season.

Elite Championship

  • Regular season: The clubs play each other once over the course of seven match-days. On each match-day, the fixtures are held in one neutral location in which all eight clubs gather to contest their scheduled matches. This location changes each match-day. Points are earned for the championship table by winning matches.
  • Post-season: All eight clubs gather in one location for three consecutive days to compete in the post-season phase.

National Championship

  • Regular season: The clubs play exclusively against the other members of their own conference, once, over the course of nine match-days. On each match-day, the fixtures are held in three locations; one in the north, central and south of Portugal, in which all ten clubs of the corresponding conference gather together to contest their scheduled matches. Points are earned for their tables by winning matches. At the end of the regular season, the top two teams in each conferences, plus the best two third-place teams advance to the Finals.
  • Post-season: All eight clubs gather in one location for three consecutive days. The eight clubs play each other in a knockout tournament. The two clubs that reach the final are promoted to the Elite Championship for next season; the six clubs knocked out will remain in the National Championship for next season. The winners of the final are crowned National Championship winners.

Clubs

''As of 2019''

Elite Championship

National Championship

North zone

Central zone

South zone

Venues

Scheduled for use during the 2019 season for the Elite Division:

Results

Elite Championship

The following lists the winners and runners-up of the top tier; the former are crowned Portuguese league champions.
SeasonWinnersRunners-up
2010Sporting CPSL Benfica
2011Vitória SCSporting CP
2012BelenensesACD O Sótão
2013BragaEstoril Praia
2014BragaSporting CP
2015BragaSporting CP
2016Sporting CPBraga
2017BragaSporting CP
2018BragaSporting CP
2019BragaSporting CP
2020Sporting CPBraga
2021BragaCasa Benfica de Loures
2022BragaCasa Benfica de Loures
2023BragaACD O Sótão
2024BragaACD O Sótão

Note: From 2010–2014 there was only one division comprising the league. Those results have been included as de facto Elite Division results.

National Championship

The second tier was introduced in 2015; the following lists the winners and runners-up. Both are promoted to the top tier.
SeasonWinnersRunners-up
2015VarzimCasa Benfica de Loures
2016NacionalVila Franca Rosario
2017LeixõesVarzim
2018AlfarimSesimbra
2019ACD O SótãoGD Chaves
2020VarzimBuarcos 2017
2021LeixõesSão Domingos de Setúbal
2022GD ChavesBelenenses
2023AD Nazaré 2022Vila Flor SC
2024EriceirenseAlfarim

Performance at the Euro Winners Cup

The Euro Winners Cup, held every May/June since 2013, is a competition contested by the best teams from Europe's domestic beach soccer leagues to determine a European club champion.
A club's final league position determines their qualification route to the EWC. The following table shows the history of qualification opportunities for Portuguese clubs:
The following documents the performances of Portuguese clubs that have qualified for the EWC:
CChampionsRound of 16
2ndRunners-upR32Round of 32
3rdThird placeGSGroup stage
4thFourth Place•Did not participate
Quarter-finalsHost club / country

Team \ Years201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024Total
ACD O Sótão••••15thGSGS7th7thGS3rd3rd8
ACD O Sótão B•••••••GSR32•••2
AD Nazaré 2022•••••••••••GS1
Alfarim••••••GS•••••1
BelenensesGS•••••••GS•••2
Braga•3rd5th3rdCCC2nd2nd2nd6thC11
Buarcos 2017••••••GS•R32GS••3
Caxinas••••••••GS•••1
CB Loures•••••GSR32•15thC••4
CB Caldas da Rainha••••••••16th•••1
Chaves••••••••GS•••1
CF Chelas••••••GS•••••1
Costa Caparica••••••GS•••••1
GR Amigos Paz•••••GS•GS12thGSGSGS6
Nacional••••GS•GS•GS•R32•4
Os Nazarenos•••••••11thGS•••2
Porto Mendo••••••••GS•••1
São Domingos•••••••••GS••1
Sesimbra••••••GS•GSGS••3
Sporting CP••••7th5th11th9thR3211th••6
Varzim••••••••R32GSR16•3
Vila Flor••••••••GS•••1
Portuguese teams11114510617954