1997 Beach Soccer World Championships
The 1997 Beach Soccer World Championships was the third 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).
| III Beach Soccer World Championships | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | January 14–19 |
| Teams | 8 (from 4 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Brazil (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Uruguay |
| Third place | United States |
| Fourth place | Argentina |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 141 (8.81 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Júnior Venancio Ramos (11 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Júnior |
| Best goalkeeper | Paulo Sérgio |
For the third consecutive time, the tournament took place at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Hosts Brazil won the tournament for the third time in a row by beating Uruguay 5–2 in what was a repeat of the final in the previous edition. It was also the first and only time in the history of the world cup that no European nations finished in the top four.
Future champions France and Portugal both competed for the first time at this edition, as did the first Asian nation, Japan.