Blog post: Excited about the World Cup? Which one?

Blog post by Weltch Media's Andy Weltch

In case you hadn't noticed, the FIFA men's World Cup gets underway today (Thursday 11 June), with one of the three host nations, Mexico, facing South Africa.

This is a huge event, of course - not just as the most prestigious competition for the world's most popular team sport - but in terms of its scale.

1970's FIFA World Cup involved 16 teams

The 2026 competition features no fewer than 48 teams - in contrast, I recently rediscovered my childhood sticker album from the 1970 tournament, which involved (perhaps more sensibly?) the world's top 16 countries.

And, while 1970's World Cup was in Mexico alone, this time there are three host countries - Canada faces South Korea tomorrow (Friday) before the USA meets Qatar on Saturday.

However you look at it, this is going to be a massive event, with millions of fans glued to their screens for the next few weeks.

But, while soccer will dominate the headlines, some of my other favourite sports have their own world cups at the same time.

The ICC Women's Twenty20 Cricket World Cup begins tomorrow (Friday), when hosts England face Sri Lanka. Unlike the FIFA competition's four-year cycle, this short form of cricket has a world cup every two years, and for 2026 involves a record 12 teams, building up to the final on 5 July.

Meanwhile, tonight (Thursday) sees the start of the PDC World Cup of Darts, an annual four-day pairs competition, in Germany.

While the English pair of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are ranked number one, the pairs format often throws up surprises, and with 40 countries involved, you can expect some upsets on the way.

The PDC World Cup of Darts takes place in Germany

And it doesn't stop there, because October sees the Rugby League World Cup - another multi-host competition in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.

One of the unusual (and creditable) features of rugby league's world cup is that it involves the men's, women's, and wheelchair competitions in parallel.

The men's competition features 10 teams, and the women's wheelchair competitions eight.

So while the FIFA World Cup will understandably capture much of the world's attention over the coming weeks, I'll also have an eye on other world cups. Will you?

Weltch Media has extensive experience across the sports industry, having worked with national governing bodies in cricket, tennis, swimming, and canoeing; golf organisations ranging from local clubs to professional tours, including the Ryder Cup; and motorsport drivers, teams and promoters.

If you’re an individual, team, or other organisation involved in sport and looking for communications support, publicity, or training, get in touch for a chat about how we could help.