The first games of Beach Soccer started more than 30 years ago on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. The game quickly became an art form in itself and today pick-up, as well as more organized sand soccer games, (which often include local professional players during their off-season) are widely played on beaches all over the world.

“Beach Soccer had been played recreationally all over the world for many years and in many different formats but it wasn’t until 1992 that the laws of the game were envisioned and a pilot event staged by the founding partners of BSWW (Beach Soccer World Wide) in Los Angeles, USA. The following summer, the first professional beach soccer competition was organized at Miami Beach with teams from the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Italy taking part in what would turn out to be an historic event” (www.beachsoccer.com).

Today, the BSWW encompasses the Beach Soccer World Cup and a worldwide series of pro Beach Soccer events being held all over the world. The Pro Beach Soccer Tour, which operates out of the United States, is a summer long endeavor (with Pro tournaments in Europe, North America, South America and Asia) and attracts thousands of spectators at each venue.

However, Beach Soccer is more than an official professional sport destined to become part of the Olympics in the near future. In fact, beach soccer is the fastest growing beach sport in the world amongst recreational youth and adult players.

This is clearly shown in the growing amount of amateur Beach/Sand Soccer tournaments arising within the last decade in Northern America.

Today, with the participation of thousands of Sand Soccer players, there are now more than 15 Sand Soccer tournaments in Northern America alone. These include places such as Virginia Beach, (www.sandsoccer.com), Vancouver, (www.mysportstournament.com/beachblast), Santa Cruz, (www.ussandsoccer.com), as well as Cape Cod, Newport, Atlantic Beach, Miami and New York.

Beach (Sand) Soccer is a fun game, which is played for “leisure, team play, friendship, and healthy competition. Fair play is the essence of the game”.

To read more about the complete history of Beach Soccer, please visit: www.beachsoccer.com

To view great pictures from various Pro Beach Soccer events around the world, please visit: www.beachsoccer.it