Some familiar names will face new forces in the UEFA Futsal Champions League finals on 4/5 and 6/7 May.
As two-time winners Sporting CP and 2010 champions Benfica are back in the knockout showpiece, another pair of teams will be there for the first time. Mallorca Palma Futsal have made their debut while Sporting Anderlecht Futsal will end a 15-year Belgian wait for another semi-finalist after they dramatically dethroned Barca.
The hosts of the final and the date of the draw are to be confirmed.
Final contenders
Benfica (POR), Mallorca Palma Futsal (ESP), Sporting Anderlecht Futsal (BEL), Sporting CP (POR)
Road to the final
Main round group 4 winners (W3-1 vs. Haladas, W4-1 vs. Uragan Ivano-Frankivsk, W8-1 vs. United Galati)
Elite Round Group C Winners (D3-3 vs. Chrudim, W6-0 vs. Luxol St. Andrews, W2-1 vs. Kairat Almaty)
Best striker: Vinicius Rocha 7
Previous best: winners (2010)
2021/22: third place (L4-5aet vs Barça, W5-2 vs ACCS)
Summary of the semi-final: W1 L3
In short: Aiming to join Portuguese rivals Sporting on two titles; Runners-up in 2003/04 and winners in 2009/10 as hosts, they have lost three semi-finals since their home triumph in Lisbon.
Final tournament / two-legged final appearances
2022: third place
2021: quarter-finals
2016: third place
2011: fourth place
2010: winners, hosts (W3-2aet vs Inter FS, Lisbon)
2004: second (L5-7 aggregate against Inter FS, round trip)
Road to the final
Main round Group 1 winners (W11-5 vs Sporting Paris, D2-2 vs Kairat Almaty, D2-2 vs Sporting Anderlecht Futsal)
Elite Round Group B winners (W8-2 vs. Dobovec, W5-0 vs. Piast Gliwice, W2-1 vs. Novo Vrijeme Makarska)
Best striker: Hossein Tayebi 5
Previous Best: First European season
In short: The team includes Mario Rivillos, winner in 2017 and vice-champion in 2016 with Inter FS as well as bronze medalist in 2018 with Barça, as well as other players with experience of the finals in Tayebi (Kairat, third place in 2017 and runners-up in 2019; Benfica, quarter-finals 2021 and third place 2022), Chaguinha (Benfica, third place 2016) and Marlon (Inter FS, fourth place 2019). Palma have never won a major title, having been runners-up in the Spanish league last season and runners-up in the 2015/16 Copa del Rey, but neither did Yekaterinburg when they won the European crown in 2007/08.
Road to the final
Second in group 1 of the main round (D2-2 against Kairat Almaty, W4-0 against Sporting Paris, D2-2 against Mallorca Palma Futsal)
Winners of Group D of the Elite round (W3-2 against Futsal Pula, D5-5 against Barça, W9-0 against United Galati)
Best striker: Diogo 5
Previous Best: Elite Tower
2021/22: Elite Tower
In short: Rebranded from Halle-Gooik, who reached the elite round out of seven starters before their summer merger with Anderlecht football, and edged Barca on goal difference after coming from 5-2 up to draw. He now hopes to emulate Action 21 Charleroi, winners in 2004/05, who were also Belgium’s former final contenders when they achieved the first four-team title in 2006/07. Their experienced squad includes several people with finals experience, including Diogo, a two-time finalist with Sporting CP, as well as 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup winner Maximiliano Rescia of Argentina,
Road to the final
Main round group 2 winners (W5-3 v Futsal Pula, W7-1 v Ayat, W7-0 v Novo Vrijeme Makarska)
Winners of Group A of the Elite round (W4-2 against Loznica-Grad 2018, W4-2 against Uragan Ivano-Frankivsk, W5-0 against Città di Eboli)
Top scorers: Hugo Neves, Anton Sokolov 5
Previous best: winners (2019, 2021)
2021/22: second (L0-4 vs Barça)
Summary of the semi-final: W6 L3
In short: Appeared in the final five times in six years, with a team consisting of several players who won the UEFA Futsal EURO 2018 and 2022, the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2021 and the Finalissima de futsal 2022 with Portugal. Competed for ninth time in post-2006/07 finals, equaling Barca and Kairat’s record, and technically setting a new mark of ten after also hosting the eight-team showpiece in the inaugural 2001/02 edition .
Previous final tournament appearances
2022: second: (L0-4 vs Barça, Riga)
2021: winners (W4-3 vs Barça, Zadar)
2019: winners (W2-1 against Kairat, Almaty)
2018: second (L2-5 vs Inter FS, Zaragoza)
2017: second (L0-7 v Inter FS, Almaty)
2015: third place, hosts
2012: fourth place
2011: second (L2-5 vs Montesilvano, Almaty)
2002: semi-finalists, hosts
The final tournament featured four teams from 2006/07 to 2019/20 and eight teams in 2001/02 and 2020/21. A two-legged final was played from 2002/03 to 2005/06, with two-legged semi-finals in the last of these four seasons.
