1996 Beach Soccer World Championships

The organisation remained the same as the format established for the maiden event in the previous year; the eight participating nations competed in two groups of four teams in a round robin format. The top two teams progressed straight to the semi-finals from which point on the championship was played as a knock-out tournament until a winner was crowned with an additional match to determine third place. The capacity of the arena used for this edition of the World Championships remained the same as in 1995, at 12,000 seats available for spectators. ==Teams==

Africa, Asia and Oceania were unrepresented. European Zone (3): • 1 • • 1 North American Zone (2): • 1 • South American Zone (2): • • Hosts: • (South America) ==Group stage==

Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ==Knockout stage==

Semi-finals ---- Third place play-off Final ==Winners==

2. Other sources suggest 13 goals ==Final standings==