2009 Euro Beach Soccer League
The 2009 Euro Beach Soccer League, was the twelfth edition of the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL), the premier beach soccer competition contested between European men's national teams, occurring annually since its establishment in 1998. The league was organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) between July 10 and August 23, 2009.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Italy England France Portugal |
| Dates | 10 July – 23 August |
| Teams | 18 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 5 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Russia (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Portugal |
| Third place | Italy |
| Fourth place | Spain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 51 |
| Goals scored | 411 (8.06 per match) |
In 2009, BSWW introduced major changes to the EBSL. This included the reintroduction of Divisions A and B to the league, and making the Superfinal a Division A only event; the opportunity for Division B teams to qualify for the Superfinal was replaced with having the nations of the second division aim to qualify for a new additional post season event instead, the Promotion Final, in which nations would compete to try and earn promotion to Division A, as well as other changes explained later.
Portugal were the defending champions but fell short in the championship match of the Superfinal, losing to Russia who claimed their first European title. Meanwhile, in Division B, Romania were promoted after winning the inaugural edition of the Promotion Final, with Norway relegated from Division A in return.