1995 Beach Soccer World Championships
The 1995 Beach Soccer World Championships was the first edition of the Beach Soccer World Championships, the most prestigious competition in international beach soccer contested by men's national teams until 2005, when the competition was then replaced by the second iteration of a world cup in beach soccer, the better known FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. It was organised by Brazilian sports agency Koch Tavares (one of the founding partners of Beach Soccer Worldwide).
| I Mundial de futebol de areia | |
|---|---|
Official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | January 24–29 |
| Teams | 8 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Brazil (1st title) |
| Runners-up | United States |
| Third place | England |
| Fourth place | Italy |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 149 (9.31 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Zico Altobelli (12 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Zico Júnior |
| Best goalkeeper | Paulo Sérgio |
The tournament took place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The hosts and heavy favourites Brazil won the tournament by beating the United States 8–1 in the final, coming from behind to claim their first world title.
The tournament was immediately deemed a success, leading to the instant scheduling of a second World Cup the following year.
The event was notable for featuring many high-profile ex-association footballers, fuelling its popularity, including the likes of the Brazilians Zico, Júnior and Cláudio Adão, Italian 1982 World Cup winners Alessandro Altobelli and Claudio Gentile, Franco Causio, England's Gary Stevens and Luther Blissett, and brothers René and Willy van de Kerkhof of the Netherlands' 1978 World Cup runners-up squad.