| Most recent season or competition: 2019 | |
| Sport | Touch |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| First season | 1988 |
| No. of 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 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Australia (2024) |
| Tournament format | Round Robin and a Finals Series |
| Official website | www |
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).[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 World Cup.[3]
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.
- ^ "Federation of International Touch". www.internationaltouch.org. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ^ "Evolution of Touch" (PDF).
- ^ "Touch Rugby Rules" (PDF). FIT 5th Edition Rulebook. Retrieved 2023-10-26.