2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
| Campionato mondiale di beach soccer 2011 | |
|---|---|
Official logo
|
|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Italy |
| Dates | 1 – 11 September 2011 |
| Teams | 16 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 Russia (1st title)
|
| Runners-up |
 Brazil
|
| Third place |
 Portugal
|
| Fourth place |
 El Salvador
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 269 (8.41 per match) |
| Attendance | 119,370 (3,730 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
André (14 goals) |
| Best player |
Ilya Leonov
|
| Best goalkeeper |
Andrey Bukhlitskiy
|
| Fair play award |
 Nigeria
|
The 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the sixth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Previous editions before 2005 were not governed by FIFA and were held under the title Beach Soccer World Championships. Overall this was the 16th edition of the World Cup since its establishment in 1995. It took place at the Stadio del Mare (Stadium of the Sea), a temporary stadium at the Marina di Ravenna in Ravenna, Italy, the third tournament to take place outside Brazil, which started on September 1 and ended on September 11, 2011. However this was the first tournament to take place under the new two year basis; now the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup takes place once every two years. The tournament was confirmed in March 2010.Brazil were the defending champions, after winning their fourth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup title in 2009. The tournament was won by Russia, winning their first title in their first final after beating Brazil.
The African qualifiers took place between June 15 and June 19, 2011, in Casablanca, Morocco, for the first time. The competition took place between nine teams, the same number of teams who competed in the previous championship. Not surprisingly, Senegal and Nigeria were the eventual qualifying nations, after beating Egypt and surprise semi-finalists Madagascar respectively to reach the final. Senegal were the winners of the competition, beating Nigeria 7-4 in the final.
The Asian qualifiers took place in Muscat, Oman, for the first time, between February 27 and March 4, 2011. Beach Soccer Worldwide and FIFA decided on holding the tournament there, due to the success of the 2010 Asian Beach Games, also held there. A record eleven teams participated, an increase on the previous record of seven teams in 2009.Japan clinched their second successive championship title, after beating hosts Oman in the final who will play at the World Cup for the first time. Iran won the third-place play off against the United Arab Emirates to qualify for their fourth World Cup appearance, whilst the United Arab Emirates have failed to qualify to the World Cup, after hosting the competition in 2009.
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