The first Touch World Cup tournament was held in 1988. Touch and the Touch World Cup are monitored by the international governing body for touch the Federation of International Touch (FIT). 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. 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 World Cup.
Touch 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 World Cup is instead held every four years much like the football and rugby (league and union) world cups.
World Cup Venues Source:
The following outlines the World Cups held and planned for the future.
1988 - (Gold Coast) in 4 Divisions. 1991 - (Auckland) in 6 Divisions. 1995 - (Hawaii) in 7 Divisions. 1999 - (Sydney) in 8 Divisions. 2003 - (Kumagaya) in 5 Divisions. 2007 - (Stellenbosch) in 6 Divisions. 2011 - (Edinburgh) in 7 Divisions. 2015 - (Coffs Harbour) in 9 Divisions. 2019 - (Putrajaya) in 11 Divisions. 2024 - (Nottingham) in 13 Divisions.
World Cup Results
1988 - Australia (Gold Coast) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 4Women's Open Australia New Zealand 4Mixed Open Australia New Zealand 4Men's Masters (Over 35 years) Australia New Zealand 5
1991 - New Zealand (Auckland) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 9Women's Open Australia New Zealand 6Mixed Open Australia New Zealand 6Men's Seniors (over 30 years) Australia New Zealand 7Women's Seniors (over 27 years) New Zealand Australia 5Men's Masters (over 35 years) Australia New Zealand 6
1995 - USA, Hawaii (Waikiki Beach) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 8Women's Open Australia New Zealand 6Mixed Open Australia New Zealand 8Men's Over 30 Years Australia New Zealand 7Women's Over 30 Years Australia New Zealand 5Men's Over 35 Years Australia New Zealand 5Men's Over 40 Years Australia New Zealand 3
1999 - Australia (Sydney) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 13Women's Open Australia New Zealand 8Mixed Open New Zealand Australia 15Men's Over 30 Years Australia Lebanon 12Women's Over 30 Years Australia New Zealand 5Mixed Over 30 Years New Zealand Australia 5Men's Over 35 Years Australia New Zealand 4Men's Over 40 Years Australia New Zealand 5
2003 - Japan (Kumagaya) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 6Women's Open Australia New Zealand 5Mixed Open Australia New Zealand 7Men's Over 30 Years Australia New Zealand 5Men's Over 35 Years Australia New Zealand 4
2007 - South Africa (Stellenbosch) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 8Women's Open Australia New Zealand 8Mixed Open New Zealand Australia 6Mixed 30s New Zealand Australia 7Men's Over 30 Years Australia Samoa 8Men's Over 35 Years Australia South Africa 4
2011 - Scotland (Edinburgh) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 15Women's Open Australia New Zealand 11Mixed Open Australia New Zealand 19Senior Mixed New Zealand Australia 7Men's Over 30 Years Australia England 10Men's Over 35 Years Australia South Africa 11Men's Over 40 Years New Zealand Australia 10
2015 - Australia (Coffs Harbour) 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 Location : Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Coffs Harbour, Australia Overall winner : Australia
+ Division Winners Runners-up TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand 16Women's Open Australia New Zealand 14Mixed Open Australia New Zealand 22Women's Over 27 Years Australia New Zealand 5Senior Mixed Australia New Zealand 6Men's Over 30 Years Australia Cook Islands 7Men's Over 35 Years New Zealand Australia 6Men's Over 40 Years Australia New Zealand 9Men's Over 50 Years Australia Italy 5
2019 - Malaysia (Putrajaya) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up 3rd Place TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand Japan 16Women's Open Australia New Zealand Japan 17Mixed Open Australia New Zealand Scotland 22Women's Over 27 Years New Zealand Australia England 7Senior Mixed (over 30 years) Australia Cook Islands New Zealand 11Men's Over 30 Years Australia South Africa France 8Men's Over 35 Years Australia New Zealand Cook Islands 6Women's Over 35 YearsAustraliaNew ZealandEngland4Men's Over 40 Years New Zealand Australia Japan 13Men's Over 45 YearsAustraliaNew ZealandSouth Africa6Men's Over 50 Years New Zealand Australia Singapore 6
During the 2019 Touch 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. 2024 - England (Nottingham) 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
+ Division Winners Runners-up 3rd Place TeamsMen's Open Australia New Zealand Lebanon 18Women's Open Australia New Zealand England 21Mixed Open Australia New Zealand England 29Women's Over 27 Years Australia England South Africa 10Men's Over 30 Years Australia New ZealandEngland 19Mixed Over 30 Years Australia New ZealandEngland 17Men's Over 35 Years Australia New Zealand South Africa 8Women's Over 35 YearsAustraliaEnglandSouth Africa8Men's Over 40 Years New Zealand Australia England 17Women's Over 40 Years Australia New ZealandEngland 5Men's Over 45 YearsAustraliaNew ZealandFrance14Men's Over 50 Years Australia New Zealand England 15Men's Over 55 Years Australia New Zealand England 5
Full results are available on the FIT website.
References
External links 2011 World Cup website