| Touch Rugby World Cup | |
| Last Season: | 2019 |
| Upcoming Season: | 2023 |
| Sport: | Touch football |
| Founded: | 1988 |
| Inaugural: | 1988 |
| Teams: | 28 |
| Countries: | Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Cook Islands, England, Europe, France, Fiji, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United States, Wales |
| Champion: | Australia |
| Champ Season: | 2019 |
| Tournament Format: | Round Robin and a Finals Series |
The first Touch Football World Cup tournament was held in 1988. Touch football and the Touch Football World Cup are monitored by the international governing body for touch the Federation of International Touch (FIT).[1] The Touch World Cup has been hosted in five continents (Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, Africa) but is yet to be played in South America. Australia has hosted the World Cup the most having hosted it thrice. While the number of participant teams is growing steadily, almost all finals to date have been contested between Australia and New Zealand. Australia has won the most finals.
In accordance with the rules of Touch, all World Cup matches are played on a rectangular 70m x 50m pitch.[2] It is played six aside with eight substitutes. The match is played for 40 minutes in two twenty-minute halves. Touch, unlike many other football variants, always uses three referees. This is the same in the Touch Football World Cup.[3] Touch football and therefore the Touch World Cup are seen as competitors to its Rugby Union equivalent, Tag rugby and the Tag rugby world cup, which is held every three years, the Touch Rugby World Cup is instead held every four years much like the football and rugby (league and union) world cups.
Source:[4]
The following outlines the World Cups held and planned for the future.
World Cup # : 1
Dates : 14–16 November 1988
Participants : 5 (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, USA)
Location : Carrara Oval, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 4 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 4 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | 4 |
| Men's Masters (Over 35 years) | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
World Cup # : 2
Dates : 3–7 December 1991
Participants : 9 (Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tokelau)
Location : Avondale Racecourse, Auckland, New Zealand
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 9 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 6 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | 6 |
| Men's Seniors (over 30 years) | Australia | New Zealand | 7 |
| Women's Seniors (over 27 years) | New Zealand | Australia | 5 |
| Men's Masters (over 35 years) | Australia | New Zealand | 6 |
World Cup # : 3
Dates : 21–25 March 1995
Participants : 11 (American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Japan, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Africa, Tonga, United States)
Location : Kapiolani Park, Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, United States
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 8 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 6 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | 8 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 7 |
| Women's Over 30 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
| Men's Over 40 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 3 |
World Cup # : 4
Dates : 21–24 April 1999
Participants : 19 (Australia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tokelau, Tonga, USA, Wales)
Location : David Phillips Sports Fields, Daceyville, Sydney, Australia
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 13 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 8 |
| Mixed Open | New Zealand | Australia | 15 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | Lebanon | 12 |
| Women's Over 30 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
| Mixed Over 30 Years | New Zealand | Australia | 5 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 4 |
| Men's Over 40 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
World Cup # : 5
Dates : 24–28 May 2003
Participants : 10 (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Niue, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, USA, Wales)
Location : Kumagaya Rugby Complex, Kumagaya, Japan
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 6 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | 7 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 4 |
World Cup # : 6
Dates : 17–21 January 2007
Participants : 15 (Australia, England, Fiji, France, Japan, Jersey, Lebanon, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, USA, Wales)
Location : Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 8 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 8 |
| Mixed Open | New Zealand | Australia | 6 |
| Mixed 30s | New Zealand | Australia | 7 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | Samoa | 8 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | South Africa | 4 |
World Cup # : 7
Dates : 22–26 June 2011
Participants : 26 (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United States and Wales)
Location : Peffermill Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 15 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 11 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | 19 |
| Senior Mixed | New Zealand | Australia | 7 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | England | 10 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | South Africa | 11 |
| Men's Over 40 Years | New Zealand | Australia | 10 |
World Cup # : 8
Dates : 29 April - 3 May 2015
Participants : 25 (Australia, Chile, China, Cook Islands, England, France, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Middle East Touch, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, United States, Wales)
Teams: 90[7] [8]
Location : Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia
Overall winner : Australia
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 16 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | 14 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | 22 |
| Women's Over 27 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 5 |
| Senior Mixed | Australia | New Zealand | 6 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | Cook Islands | 7 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | New Zealand | Australia | 6 |
| Men's Over 40 Years | Australia | New Zealand | 9 |
| Men's Over 50 Years | Australia | Italy | 5 |
World Cup # : 9
Dates : 29 April - 4 May 2019
Participants : 28 (Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Cook Islands, England, Europe, France, Fiji, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United States, Wales)
Location : Taman Ekuestrian, Putrajaya, Malaysia
Overall winner : Australia
Overall Runners up : New Zealand
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | Japan | 16 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | Japan | 17 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | Scotland | 22 |
| Women's Over 27 Years | New Zealand | Australia | England | 7 |
| Senior Mixed (over 30 years) | Australia | Cook Islands | New Zealand | 11 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | South Africa | France | 8 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | New Zealand | Cook Islands | 6 |
| Women's Over 35 Years | Australia | New Zealand | England | 4 |
| Men's Over 40 Years | New Zealand | Australia | Japan | 13 |
| Men's Over 45 Years | Australia | New Zealand | South Africa | 6 |
| Men's Over 50 Years | New Zealand | Australia | Singapore | 6 |
The 2019 Touch Football World Cup is the latest edition of the Touch Football World Cup. All divisions consisted of a round robin of 1 or more groups, and a finals series. Some groups also consisted of a playoff series.[11]
World Cup # : 10
Dates : 15 - 21 July 2024
Participants : 35 (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong China, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Middle East Touch, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, United States, Wales)
Location : University of Nottingham
Overall winner : Australia
Overall Runners up : New Zealand
| Men's Open | Australia | New Zealand | Lebanon | 18 |
| Women's Open | Australia | New Zealand | England | 21 |
| Mixed Open | Australia | New Zealand | England | 29 |
| Women's Over 27 Years | Australia | England | South Africa | 10 |
| Men's Over 30 Years | Australia | New Zealand | England | 19 |
| Mixed Over 30 Years | Australia | New Zealand | England | 17 |
| Men's Over 35 Years | Australia | New Zealand | South Africa | 8 |
| Women's Over 35 Years | Australia | England | South Africa | 8 |
| Men's Over 40 Years | New Zealand | Australia | England | 17 |
| Women's Over 40 Years | Australia | New Zealand | England | 5 |
| Men's Over 45 Years | Australia | New Zealand | France | 14 |
| Men's Over 50 Years | Australia | New Zealand | England | 15 |
| Men's Over 55 Years | Australia | New Zealand | England | 5 |
Full results are available on the FIT website.[12]
See main article: world cups.