ALANYA, 28 October 2026 — The World Winners Cup, beach soccer's premier global club competition, is under way in Alanya on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, with a record 48 teams from 32 countries contesting the men's and women's titles from 26 October to 1 November 2026 at the Alanya International Beach Sports Centre.
Illustration: A beach soccer match on golden sand with players in colourful kits, with the Mediterranean sea in the background.
What Happened
The sixth edition of the World Winners Cup opened on Sunday 26 October in Alanya, the tournament's birthplace, seven years after its inaugural edition. Organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide in collaboration with local stakeholders, the 2026 edition is the biggest in the competition's history, with 32 teams in the men's competition and 16 in the women's, drawn from five continents. Matches are being played at the Alanya International Beach Sports Centre, which offers a 3,300-seat grandstand and four main competition courts, with professional lighting allowing play to continue into the evening.
The opening day brought the drama beach soccer is known for. According to Beach Soccer Worldwide's day-one round-up, comebacks and narrow victories marked the first matches, with São Pedro and Higicontrol securing convincing victories in the women's competition while NMD completed a comeback win. The men's draw also opened with tight contests, setting the tone for a week in which no team can afford a slow start in the group stage.
Day two, on Monday 27 October, began to separate the contenders from the rest. Beach Soccer Worldwide reported that twelve teams made it two wins from two, while in the women's competition São Pedro hit nine goals in a single match and NMD turned the tables on the Red Devils. With group-stage matches coming thick and fast, the early pacesetters are already building the goal differences and momentum that decide who advances to the knockout rounds.
One late change shaped the field before a ball was kicked. Fahari Tides Beach Soccer Club of Kenya withdrew from both competitions, and Alanya Belediyespor B of Turkey took their place in the men's draw, joining a group alongside Falfala KQ BSC of Israel, CB Viseu of Portugal and SK Bosnia Teplice of the Czech Republic. The switch gave the host city an extra team to cheer and kept the group structure intact.
Background
Beach soccer is football played on sand, in shorter, faster matches where goals come in bursts and acrobatic finishes are routine. The sport has grown from beach pastime into an organised international game, with Beach Soccer Worldwide running its major club and national-team competitions, including the World Winners Cup for clubs and the Mundialito for national teams. The World Winners Cup brings together the leading club sides from around the world in a single week, in the same way that continental club competitions crown champions in the traditional game.
The tournament's history is closely tied to its current host. Alanya staged the inaugural edition, and the 2026 return brings the event back to its birthplace after editions elsewhere, most recently in Sicily in 2025. There, Falfala KQ BSC were crowned back-to-back champions after a thrilling final comeback, while in the women's competition the Spanish side Higicontrol Melilla rose from the previous year's runners-up to claim the title. Both champions therefore arrive in Alanya with a title to defend and a target on their backs.
The 2025 champions' stories illustrate how competitive the event has become. Falfala's back-to-back triumph required a final comeback, a reminder that in beach soccer no lead is safe on sand. Higicontrol's journey from runners-up to champions shows how quickly the women's competition is developing.
Alanya itself is no stranger to major sport. The city on Antalya's Mediterranean coastline has hosted events from the Turkish Airlines Open golf tournament to the Alanya Triathlon, and its beach sports centre was recently recognised as an International Centre of Excellence by the International Volleyball Federation. For the local authorities, the World Winners Cup is both a sporting event and a showcase: a week in which a Turkish resort city hosts the world game, on its own sand.
Illustration: A modern beach sports arena with grandstands and floodlights beside the Mediterranean coast at sunset.
Why It Matters
The tournament matters first for beach soccer itself. The World Winners Cup is the sport's leading club event, and its growth to 48 teams from 32 countries — its biggest edition yet — is a measure of how far club beach soccer has come. Having the men's and women's competitions in the same place, in the same week, gives the women's game equal billing on the sport's biggest club stage, and the early scoring feats of teams like São Pedro show the quality on display.
It matters too for the clubs and players involved. For most beach soccer clubs, the World Winners Cup is the pinnacle of the season: the one week when a team from a small beach town can test itself against the best from five continents. A strong run in Alanya can define a club's history, attract sponsors and inspire the next generation of players back home. For the defending champions, the week is a test of whether dominance can survive when every opponent is gunning for them.
There is also a wider significance for the host city and country. A week-long international tournament brings teams, officials, media and supporters to Alanya, filling hotels and restaurants outside the peak summer season and putting the city's beaches on screens around the world. Turkey's investment in beach sports infrastructure, recognised by the centre's International Centre of Excellence status, is on display for a global audience.
Finally, the tournament's timing matters for the sport's calendar. Coming soon after the Mundialito national-team events in Spain earlier in October, the World Winners Cup keeps beach soccer in the spotlight into late autumn, sustaining momentum for a sport that once struggled for attention beyond the summer months. A successful week in Alanya strengthens the case for more events, more coverage and more investment in the seasons to come.
What Happens Next
The group stage continues through the week, with the twelve teams that won their first two matches looking to confirm their places in the knockout rounds, and the rest fighting to stay alive. As the groups resolve, the tournament will move into elimination matches, where a single defeat ends a team's campaign and where beach soccer's capacity for late drama comes into its own.
The finals are scheduled for the weekend of 1 November, when the men's and women's champions will be crowned on the Alanya sand. The defending champions, Falfala KQ BSC in the men's competition and Higicontrol in the women's, will aim to keep their crowns, but the early results suggest they will face stiff competition — including from host-city sides eager to make home advantage count.
For supporters following from afar, Beach Soccer Worldwide is publishing daily round-ups of the action, and the closing days of the tournament will determine whether the 2026 edition ends with a familiar name lifting the trophy or a new champion writing its own chapter in the competition's short but growing history.
Illustration: Beach soccer players celebrating together on the sand lifting a golden trophy.
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FAQ
What is the World Winners Cup?
The World Winners Cup is beach soccer's premier global club competition, organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide. It brings together leading club teams from around the world to contest the men's and women's titles in a single week-long tournament.
When and where is the 2026 edition being played?
The 2026 edition runs from 26 October to 1 November 2026 at the Alanya International Beach Sports Centre in Alanya, Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast.
How many teams are competing?
A record 48 teams from 32 countries are taking part: 32 in the men's competition and 16 in the women's, representing five continents. It is the biggest edition in the tournament's history.
Who are the defending champions?
Falfala KQ BSC won the men's title in Sicily in 2025, their second in a row, while Higicontrol Melilla of Spain won the women's title in 2025 after finishing as runners-up the previous year.
When will the champions be crowned?
The tournament concludes with the finals on the weekend of 1 November 2026, after the group stage and knockout rounds decide the two finalists in each competition.
Sources
- Beach Soccer Worldwide, "World Winners Cup Alanya 2026 — Day 1 Round-up," 26 October 2026, and "Day 2 Round-up," 27 October 2026.
- Beach Soccer Worldwide, "World Winners Cup Alanya 2026 is ready to kick off," 25 October 2026, and "Group Stage Draw Results," 1 October 2026.
- News Central Asia, "Global Ambitions Meet Mediterranean Sands with World Winners Cup 2026 in Alanya," 26 October 2026.
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