“The 10th Japan Beach Soccer Championship”, which decides the strongest beach soccer team in Japan, will start on Friday 11 September. Exciting matches will be expected over the three days. This article will take a look back at the previous tournament prior to the curtain-up.

The 9th Championship was held in Okayama for the first time. 16 teams in total, including 15 teams, who survived the national qualifying round, and one hosting regional team, participated in the tournament. The teams were divided into four groups to play league matches in the first round, and only the top teams from each group got through to the knockout stage. 

Four teams, namely Sol Mar Praia (Kyushu 2/Okinawa), Avante Osaka (Kansai/Osaka), Tokyo Lequios BS (Kanto 1/Tokyo), and Leon Fukuoka (Kyushu 1/Fukuoka) were in the semi-final.

The championship got so much more exciting from that point on. Sol Mar Praia, who won the 8th tournament, played against Avante Osaka, showing off their systematic and solid defence. They beat Avante Osaka 5-3 to book a place in the final.

The other semi-final was between Tokyo Lequios BS and Leon Fukuoka. Although Leon Fukuoka never gave up until the final whistle, Tokyo Lequios BS, who had overwhelming attacking ability, won a sweeping victory 8-1.

In the final, Sol Mar Praia met Tokyo Lequios BS, both of whom have shared two titles each in the four years from 2010 to 2013. Sol Mar Praia moved to attack first, and struck the opener with KAWAHARAZUKA Takeshi’s shot in the 12th minute.

Tokyo Lequios BS, however, never stayed quiet. After 14 minutes, MOREIRA Ozu struck a goal directly from a free kick, levelling the game. 10 minutes later, Moreira Ozu once more took a shot from a free kick and turned the game around 2-1. 

Sol Mar Praia, who were looking for the equaliser, and Tokyo Lequios BS, who stayed ambitious for more goals, both showed breath-taking attack and defence. Sol Mar Praia took as many as 37 shots, but Tokyo Lequios BS defended superbly with the goalkeeper GINOZA Tomoya, and kept a one-goal lead until the final whistle.

Tokyo Lequios BS became back-to-back champions. Moreira, who put in an outstanding performance, noted after the game, showing his excitement at being the best in Japan: “I’m glad that I scored two goals off the back of my particular strength: free kicks. I’d like to win the championship again next year.”

This year, the 10th Japan Beach Soccer Championship will be held from Friday 11 September to Sunday 13 September in Okura Kaigan in Akashi, Hyogo.