For the first time in the history of bossaball, and after two consecutive times finishing as runner-up behind Belgium, The Netherlands became European champion. In the final they defeated the defending champions in three sets: 21-16, 14-21 and 15-7.

The third edition of the European Championship Bossaball took place in the Czech Republic. On the 12 and 13th of May, twelve teams from seven countries battled against each other to get a good result. Eventually, there were no surprise exits. The first two teams of The Netherlands, and the first teams of Belgium and Slovenia made it to the semifinals. They determined which teams would contest the EC Bossaball Final.

After two exciting semifinals, with The Netherlands 1 beating the second squad (21-04) and Belgium overthrowing Slovenia (21-18), the final went between two teams who competed with each other for many times. Though surprisingly enough, The Netherlands came off the best after three sensational sets. “Finally it was our turn”, an extremely happy Douwe Kamsma says. The Slovenians were saying that the Dutch ´played like a machine´.

Wilco Nijland, international manager at Bossaball Sports SL, is not only very satisfied with the tournaments final, but with the organisation of the European Championship as a whole: “It has been well-organised, the circumstances were very good. And it was great to see the level of the game growing, it´s getting better every European Championship again.`

Check out the video about the championship:

This weekend, the third edition of the European Championship Bossaball will take place in the Czech Republic. After two consecutive victories of Belgium, eleven other teams will all be committed to prevent the title holders from winning the championship again.

This neck-and-neck struggle, with other top favorites like the first teams of The Netherlands and Slovenia, will be held in the city of Usti nad Labem, the 7th-most populous city of the Czech Republic.

Bossaball staff member Freek de Jong is looking forward to the event. “It will be a very special European Championship due to the fact that it's the first time a partner takes care of the organisation. And it's the first time in the Czech Republic, so I'm looking forward to see the European Bossaball family coming together here”, he reports.

De Jong has high hopes about the bossaball level. “I expect to see a lot of progress, especially compared to the previous European Championships.
Moreover, I am delighted by the fact that more women than ever before will compete in this competition. Bossaball is a mix sports, and let us jointly build on this opportunity.”

A full rundown of the groups for the European Championship in the Czech Republic:

Group A
Netherlands 4
Slovenia 1
Germany 1
Belgium 1

Group B
Czech Republic 2
Netherlands 2
Belgium 2
Netherlands 3

Group C
Spain
Netherlands 1
Slovenia 2
Czech Republic 1