AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup

The AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup is the main championship for beach soccer in Asia, contested between the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the sport's version of the better known AFC Asian Cup in association football.

AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup
Organising bodyAFC
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
RegionAsia
Number of teams~16
Qualifier forFIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
Current champions Iran (3rd title)
Most successful team(s) Iran
 Japan
(3 titles each)
Websiteafc.com
2023 AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup

The winners of the championship are crowned continental champions; the tournament also acts as the qualification route for Asian nations to the upcoming edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] Coinciding with the annual staging of the World Cup, the competition took place yearly until 2009; the World Cup then became biennial, and as its supplementary qualification event, the championship followed suit.

The championship was established in 2006 after FIFA made it a requirement for all confederations to begin holding qualification tournaments to determine the best national team(s) in their region who would proceed to represent their continent in the upcoming World Cup (previously, nations were simply invited to play, without having to earn their place).[2] FIFA currently allocate Asia three berths at the World Cup[3] and hence top three teams qualify to the World Cup finals.[1]

Asia's governing body for football, the AFC, organise the championship. However, it was not originally an AFC competition – it was created by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW)[4] under the title, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup AFC qualifier;[5][6] they organised the first six editions. During this time it also became informally known by the misnomer, the AFC Beach Soccer Championship.[7] In 2015, the AFC adopted the competition and branded it using its informal title in an official capacity; they jointly organised that year's edition with BSWW.[8] Since 2017, the AFC have been sole organisers.[1] For 2021, the competition was renamed as the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup, bringing it in line with the naming of other AFC senior national tournaments.[9]

Japan are the most successful nation with three titles and having also qualified for the World Cup on every occasion.

Results

edit

For all tournaments, the top three teams qualified for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (except for 2009, when only the top two teams qualified as one of the AFC spots was automatically given to the World Cup hosts, United Arab Emirates).

Tournament names
  • 2006–2019: AFC Beach Soccer Championship
  • 2021–present: AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup
Year Location Final Third place play-off
Winners Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place
2006
details
  Dubai, United Arab Emirates  
Bahrain
5–3  
Japan
 
Iran
6–4  
China
2007
details
  Dubai, United Arab Emirates  
United Arab Emirates
4–3  
Japan
 
Iran
6–0  
Bahrain
2008
details
  Dubai, United Arab Emirates  
United Arab Emirates
4–3  
Japan
 
Iran
4–1  
China
2009
details
  Dubai United Arab Emirates[a]  
Japan
4–2  
Bahrain
 
Oman
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–1 p)
 
Iran
2011
details
  Muscat, Oman  
Japan
2–1  
Oman
 
Iran
6–2  
United Arab Emirates
2013
details
  Doha, Qatar  
Iran
6–6 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
 
Japan
 
United Arab Emirates
3–2  
Australia
2015
details
  Doha, Qatar  
Oman
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)
 
Japan
 
Iran
8–3  
Lebanon
2017
details
  Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia  
Iran
7–2  
United Arab Emirates
 
Japan
6–3  
Lebanon
2019
details
  Pattaya, Thailand  
Japan
2–2 (a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)
 
United Arab Emirates
 
Oman
2–2 (a.e.t.)
(2–1 p)
 
Palestine
2021
details
  Phuket, Thailand Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Teams to play at the World Cup handpicked by the AFC.[10]
2023
details
  Pattaya, Thailand[10]  
Iran
6–0  
Japan
 
Oman
4–2  
United Arab Emirates
2025
details
  Thailand
a. ^ Despite being hosts and defending champions, the United Arab Emirates did not participate in the championship as they had already qualified automatically for the 2009 World Cup as its host nation.

Teams reaching the top four

edit
Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place Total
  Japan 3 (2009, 2011, 2019) 6 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2023) 1 (2017) 10
  Iran 3 (2013, 2017, 2023) 5 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015) 1 (2009) 9
  United Arab Emirates 2 (2007*, 2008*) 2 (2017, 2019) 1 (2013) 2 (2011, 2023) 7
  Oman 1 (2015) 1 (2011*) 2 (2009, 2019) 1 (2023) 5
  Bahrain 1 (2006) 1 (2009) 1 (2007) 3
  China 2 (2006, 2008) 2
  Lebanon 2 (2015, 2017) 2
  Australia 1 (2013) 1
  Palestine 1 (2019) 1
* Hosts

Summary (2006-2023)

edit
Rank Team Part M W WE WP L GF GA GD Points
1   Japan 10 49 35 1 2 11 261 124 +137 109
2   Iran 10 47 33 1 1 12 279 123 +156 102
3   United Arab Emirates 9 42 30 0 1 11 178 116 +82 91
4   Oman 7 34 23 0 4 7 148 80 +68 73
5   Bahrain 9 39 20 1 2 16 129 122 +7 64
6   China 10 39 12 0 2 25 112 171 –59 38
7   Lebanon 5 21 8 1 0 12 88 71 +17 26
8   Palestine 3 14 7 1 0 6 48 52 –8 23
9   Thailand 5 16 5 0 0 11 40 57 –17 15
10   Uzbekistan 6 21 5 0 0 16 72 94 –22 15
11   Afghanistan 4 15 4 1 0 10 48 58 –10 14
12   Australia 2 8 3 0 1 4 25 24 +1 10
13   Kuwait 4 13 3 0 1 9 44 61 –17 10
14   Iraq 5 15 2 1 1 11 41 83 –42 9
15   Saudi Arabia 2 8 2 0 1 5 23 36 –13 7
16   Malaysia 3 12 2 0 0 10 33 72 –39 6
17   Laos 1 3 1 0 0 2 11 21 –10 3
18   Qatar 4 14 1 0 0 13 30 85 –55 3
19   Vietnam 1 3 0 0 0 3 11 14 –3 0
20   India 1 2 0 0 0 2 5 10 –5 0
21   Syria 1 3 0 0 0 3 6 19 –13 0
22   Kyrgyzstan 2 6 0 0 0 6 12 40 –28 0
23   Indonesia 2 6 0 0 0 6 10 42 –32 0
24   Philippines 3 9 0 0 0 9 13 90 –77 0

Points: W = 3 points / WE = 2 points / WP = 1 points / L = 0 points

Awards

edit

By category

edit
Year Top goalscorer(s) Gls Best player Best goalkeeper Fair play Ref.
  2006   Takeshi Kawaharazuka 9   Abdullah Omar   Hamed Ghorbanpour not awarded [7]
  2007   Farid Boulokbashi   Bakhit Alabadla   Mohamed Al Mazam [8]
  2008   Shusei Yamauchi 12   Rami Al Mesaabi   Shingo Terukina [9]
  2009   Moslem Mesigar   Yaqoob Al Nesuf   Tomoya Ginoza [10]
  2011   Takeshi Kawaharazuka
  Ishaq Al-Qassmi
8   Yahya Al Araimi   Shingo Terukina [11]
  2013   Moslem Mesigar 11   Ozu Moreira   Simon Jaeger [12]
  2015   Takasuke Goto 8   Ozu Moreira   Peyman Hosseini [13]
  2017   Mohammadali Mokhtari 12   Mohammadali Mokhtari not awarded[a]   Iran [14]
  2019   Ozu Moreira 9   Ozu Moreira   United Arab Emirates [15]
  2023   Takuya Akaguma 11   Moslem Mesigar   Mahdi Mirjalili   Oman [16]
  1. ^ In 2017 and 2019, the "best goalkeeper" was not awarded. However, the goalkeepers chosen for the "dream team" of the tournament may be considered as the de facto best goalkeepers for these years.

By nationality

edit
Rank Team Awards
1   Japan 12
2   Iran 10
3   United Arab Emirates 4
4   Oman 3
5   Bahrain 2
6   Australia 1

Team of the tournament

edit

Since 2017, the competition's Technical Study Group have produced a post-tournament report including a dream and reserve "team of the tournament".

Year Dream team Reserve team Ref.

  2017

  Shingo Terukina (GK)
  Ozu Moreira (DF)
  Ahmed Beshr (DF)
  Mohammad Ahmadzadeh (FW)
  Mohammadali Mokhtari (FW)

  Peyman Hosseini (GK)
  Hassan Abdollahi (DF)
  Ali Karim (MF)
  Takaaki Oba (MF)
  Mohamad Merhi (FW)

[17]

  2019

  Mohamed Abdulla (GK)
  Ozu Moreira (DF)
  Waleed Beshr (DF)
  Yahya Abyoua (FW)
  Shusei Yamauchi (FW)

  Shingo Terukina (GK)
  Maisara Alawwab (DF)
  Mushel Hilal (DF)
  Walid Mohammad (DF)
  Takuya Akaguma (FW)

[18]

  2023

  Mahdi Mirjalili (GK)
  Ozu Moreira (DF)
  Moslem Mesigar (FW)
  Takuya Akaguma (FW)
  Khalid Al Oraimi (FW)

  Shinya Shibamoto (GK)
  Ali Mohammadi (DF)
  Mohammadali Mokhtari (FW)
  Sami Al Balushi (FW)
  Ali Mirshekari (FW)

[19]

Appearances and performance timeline

edit

The following is a performance timeline of the teams who have appeared in the AFC Beach Soccer Championship and how many appearances they each have made.

Legend
Timeline
Year
Team
2006
 
(6)
2007
 
(6)
2008
 
(6)
2009
 
(7)
2011
 
(11)
2013
 
(16)
2015
 
(14)
2017
 
(12)
2019
 
(15)
2023
 
(16)
Apps
  Afghanistan × × × × •• 11th × 6th 12th 13th 4
  Australia × × × 5th × 4th × × × × 2
  Bahrain 1st 4th × 2nd 6th 9th 7th 5th 6th 6th 9
  China 4th 5th 4th 7th 5th 7th 6th 12th 9th 7th 10
  India × 6th × × × × × × × × 1
  Indonesia × × × × 11th × × × × 16th 2
  Iran 3rd 3rd 3rd 4th 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 7th 1st 10
  Iraq × × × × 9th 10th 12th 9th 13th × 5
  Japan 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 10
  Kuwait × × × × 10th × 9th × 11th 8th 4
  Kyrgyzstan × × × × × × × × 15th 14th 2
  Laos × × × × × × 10th × × × 1
  Lebanon × × × × × 8th 4th 4th 5th 10th 5
  Malaysia × × × × × × × 8th 8th 15th 3
  Oman × × × 3rd 2nd 5th 1st 7th 3rd 3rd 7
  Palestine × × × × •• 6th •• × 4th 11th 3
  Philippines 6th × 6th × × 16th × × × × 3
  Qatar × × × × •• 15th 14th 11th 14th × 4
  Saudi Arabia × × × × × 12th × × × 9th 2
  Syria × × × × 8th × × × × × 1
  Thailand × × × × × 13th 13th 10th 10th 5th 5
  United Arab Emirates 5th 1st 1st × 4th 3rd 5th 2nd 2nd 4th 9
  Uzbekistan × × 5th 6th 7th 14th 8th •• × 12th 6
  Vietnam × × × × × × 11th × × × 1

Performance of qualifiers at the World Cup

edit

The following is a performance timeline of the AFC teams who have appeared in the Beach Soccer World Cup since being sanctioned by FIFA in 2005.

Legend
Team \ Years  
2005[†]
 
2006
 
2007
 
2008
 
2009
 
2011
 
2013
 
2015
 
2017
 
2019
 
2021[†]
 
2023
Total
  Bahrain QF R1 2
  Iran R1 R1 R1 R1 QF QF 3rd 3rd 8
  Japan 4th QF R1 R1 QF R1 QF QF R1 4th 2nd QF 12
  Oman R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 5
  Thailand R1 1
  United Arab Emirates R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 QF 8
Notes
  1. ^
    In 2005 and 2021, no AFC qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup were held and teams were selected to represent AFC (2005: Japan and Thailand; 2021: Japan, Oman and United Arab Emirates).

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c AFC Beach Soccer Championship 2017 Competition Regulations. Asian Football Confederation. 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. ^ "FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2006 qualifiers to start in Brazil on 5 March". FIFA. 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. ^ "World Cup gets bigger". FIFA. 25 August 2005. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Regulations FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio de Janeiro 2006" (PDF). fifa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  5. ^ Gaich, Rémi (11 January 2016). BSWW competitions / National teams. Barcelona: Beach Soccer Worldwide. pp. 14, 15, 19.
  6. ^ FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 - AFC Qualifier Qatar Archived 2020-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. Beach Soccer Worldwide. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  7. ^ See the following for examples: [1]; [2]; [3][dead link]; [4]; [5]; [6].
  8. ^ FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 – AFC Qualifier Qatar Regulations. Asian Football Confederation. 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  9. ^ "AFC rebrands age group championships to AFC Asian Cups". AFC. 2 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b ""الآسيوي" يبلغ الاتحاد اللبناني بمواعيد بطولاته الجديدة" (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
edit