The winners of the championship are crowned continental champions; the tournament also acts as the qualification route for Asian nations to the upcoming edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[1] Coinciding with the annual staging of the World Cup, the competition took place yearly until 2009; the World Cup then became biennial, and as its supplementary qualification event, the championship followed suit.
The championship was established in 2006 after FIFA made it a requirement for all confederations to begin holding qualification tournaments to determine the best national team(s) in their region who would proceed to represent their continent in the upcoming World Cup (previously, nations were simply invited to play, without having to earn their place).[2] FIFA currently allocate Asia three berths at the World Cup[3] and hence top three teams qualify to the World Cup finals.[1]
Asia's governing body for football, the AFC, organise the championship. However, it was not originally an AFC competition – it was created by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW)[4] under the title, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup AFC qualifier;[5][6] they organised the first six editions. During this time it also became informally known by the misnomer, the AFC Beach Soccer Championship.[7] In 2015, the AFC adopted the competition and branded it using its informal title in an official capacity; they jointly organised that year's edition with BSWW.[8] Since 2017, the AFC have been sole organisers.[1] For 2021, the competition was renamed as the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup, bringing it in line with the naming of other AFC senior national tournaments.[9]
Japan are the most successful nation with three titles and having also qualified for the World Cup on every occasion.
Results
For all tournaments, the top three teams qualified for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (except for 2009, when only the top two teams qualified as one of the AFC spots was automatically given to the World Cup hosts, United Arab Emirates).
a.^ Despite being hosts and defending champions, the United Arab Emirates did not participate in the championship as they had already qualified automatically for the 2009 World Cup as its host nation.
^In 2017 and 2019, the "best goalkeeper" was not awarded. However, the goalkeepers chosen for the "dream team" of the tournament may be considered as the de facto best goalkeepers for these years.
The following is a performance timeline of the teams who have appeared in the AFC Beach Soccer Championship and how many appearances they each have made.
In 2005 and 2021, no AFC qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup were held and teams were selected to represent AFC (2005: Japan and Thailand; 2021: Japan, Oman and United Arab Emirates).
1 No qualifiers took place as the representatives were selected by the confederation. 2 CONCACAF and CONMEBOL held a joint championship for qualification. 3 Qualification was achieved through the Euro Beach Soccer League. (p) This indicates an additional play-off round, supplement to the main qualification event.
AFC AFC Challenge League AFC Champions League AFC Championship Game AFC Champions League Two List of AFC champions AFC–OFC Challenge Cup AFC Solidarity Cup AFC Wimbledon 2018 AFC Cup 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two AFC Wimbledon Women AFC South 2022 AFC Champions League AFC North AFC U-23 Asian Cup AFC Bournemouth AFC Anthem 2023–24 AFC Cup AFC Women's Club Championship 2008 AFC Cup 2011 AFC Cup 2012 AFC Cup AFC Futsal Club Championship AFC U-17 Asian Cup AFC club competitions ranking AFC Energy AFC West 2015 AFC Cup 2021–22 AFC Wimbledon season 2015 AFC Champions League final 2017 AF…
C Cup 2012 AFC President's Cup AFC Eskilstuna 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) AFC Women's Futsal Asian Cup 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite 2014 AFC Champions League 2015 AFC Asian Cup 2009 AFC Cup 2010–11 AFC Wimbledon season 2024 AFC Champions League final 2016 AFC Champions League final 1995 AFC Championship Game 2022 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup AFC Welwyn 2010 AFC Cup 2013 AFC U-22 Championship AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2022 AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup 2016 AFC Cup 2013 AFC Cup 2012–13 AFC Wimbledon season 2014–15 AFC Wimbledon season 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification 2017 AFC Cup final 2016 AFC Cup final 2014 AFC Cup final 2022–23 AFC Wimbledon season 2018–19 AFC Wimbledon season 2015–16 AFC Wimbledon season 2019–20 AFC Wimbledon season 2018 AFC Cup final 2015 AFC Cup final 2020 AFC Cup 2014 AFC Cup 2013–14 AFC Wimbledon season 2017 AFC Champions League final AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2023 AFC Asian Cup AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup 2016–17 AFC Wimbledon season 2023–24 AFC Champions League 2011 AFC Cup final 2011–12 AFC Wimbledon season AFC Telford United Indian club qualifiers for 2023–24 AFC competitions 2017 AFC Champions Leagu