The 2004 Beach Soccer World Championships was the tenth and final edition of the Beach Soccer World Championships, the most prestigious competition in international beach soccer contested by men's national teams; the following year, the competition was replaced by the second iteration of a world cup in beach soccer, the better known FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] It was organized by Brazilian sports agency Koch Tavares in cooperation with and under the supervision of Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), the sports governing body.[2]
Brazil successfully defended their title by again beating Spain, in consecutive finals.
Organisation
The format was changed back to how the tournament was played between 1999 and 2001. This meant increasing the number of participants back up to twelve teams and splitting them up into four groups of three nations contested in a round robin format. The top two teams from each group progressed into the quarter-finals from which point on the championship proceeded as a knock-out tournament until the winner was crowned, with an additional third place deciding match.
Teams
Qualification
European teams gained qualification by finishing in the top four spots of the 2003 Euro Beach Soccer League. South American teams were hand-picked based on recent performances. The other entries received wild-card invites.[4]
The teams were split into three pots in reflection of their similar circumstances. The draw to assign one nation from each pot into the four groups took place on January 29 in São Paulo and was conducted by BSWW.[4]
