World cup


A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is the FIFA World Cup for association football, which dates back to 1930. Since then there have been a number of sporting events labeled "world cup", such as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, Rugby League World Cup, Basketball World Cup, and the Hockey World Cup.
A world cup is generally, though not always, considered the premier competition in its sport, with the victor attaining the highest honour in that sport and being able to lay claim to the title of their sport's best. In some sports, however, the Olympic title carries at least as much prestige, while other sports such as diving and artistic gymnastics differentiate between their premier competitions, such as World Championships and Olympic Games, and their "World Cup", which is organized as a smaller scale but high-level showcase event with small elite fields.

Differences between world cup and world championships

Some sports governing bodies prefer the title "world championship" or a related term; some even organize both a world cup and a world championship with different rules. Usually, such competitions take one of two forms: a short periodic competition or a year-long series of meetings, but more frequently many sports have both a World Cup, and a world championship.
SportWorld CupWorld Championships
Alpine skiingFIS Alpine Ski World CupFIS Alpine World Ski Championships
ArcheryArchery World CupWorld Archery Championships
Artistic gymnasticsArtistic Gymnastics World CupWorld Artistic Gymnastics Championships
AthleticsAthletics World CupWorld Athletics Championships
BiathlonBiathlon World CupBiathlon World Championships
Cross-country skiingFIS Cross-Country World CupFIS Nordic World Ski Championships
CurlingCurling World CupWorld Curling Championships
CricketCricket World Cup, T20 World CupWorld Test Championship
CyclingUCI Road World CupUCI World Championships
DivingWorld Aquatics Diving World CupWorld Aquatics Championships
FencingFencing World CupWorld Fencing Championships
Freestyle skiingFIS Freestyle Ski World CupFIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
LugeLuge World CupFIL World Luge Championships
Nordic combinedFIS Nordic Combined World CupFIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Rhythmic gymnasticsRhythmic Gymnastics World CupRhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Ski jumpingFIS Ski Jumping World CupFIS Nordic World Ski Championships
Speed skatingISU Speed Skating World CupWorld Speed Skating Championships
VolleyballFIVB Volleyball World CupFIVB Volleyball World Championship

A periodic world cup or world championship usually takes the form of a knockout tournament. This is held over a number of days or weeks, with the entrants eventually being whittled down to two, and the tournament culminating in a world cup final. The winner take the title of World Champion and hold it until the next time the event is held. This format is most common in team sports. In individual sports however, holding the title can vary in terms of duration, as it is dependent on the timing of the next scheduled individual contest between the defending champion and a challenger.

Season-long format

A contrasting concept, popular in individual sports, is a year-long competition with several meetings over its course. In this format, victory at an individual meeting earns a number of points, and, usually, a number of positions below also score points inversely related to their position. Contestants accumulate a number of points over the course of the year and their cumulative total after all meetings have been concluded determines the World Champion or, simply, World Cup winner. The winner is then considered the champion until the next World Cup.