Short answers, pulled from the story.
FIFA partnered with Beach Soccer Worldwide in 2005 to co-organise a new world cup under FIFA's name. The precursor tournament, called the Beach Soccer World Championships, had been running since 1995 before FIFA joined and rebranded it as an official FIFA event.
Brazil has won the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup seven times. Their most recent title came in 2025 in Victoria, Seychelles, where they defeated Belarus 4-3 in the final. Four of their seven titles came in the 2000s.
France won the inaugural FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005, defeating Portugal on penalties in the final at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The French squad was led by Eric Cantona.
The 2008 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Marseille, France, was the first edition held outside Brazil. It was played at the Plages du Prado venue, which held 7,000 spectators and achieved a 79 percent fill rate across 32 matches.
Since 2011, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup has taken place every two years. FIFA announced the change before the 2009 final in Dubai, citing the need to give continental confederations more time to organise their own regional competitions between World Cups.
As of the 2025 tournament, 44 countries have participated across 13 editions. Brazil and Japan are the only two nations to have appeared in all 13 FIFA-sanctioned tournaments. Europe has produced the most unique participants, with 10 of the 44 nations coming from UEFA's pool.