The World Cup is arguably the world's most popular sporting event. Football (soccer to Americans who just need to be different) is not only the most popular sport in the world but creates an incredible fervor every four years. Whether you run a Contest for the Men's World Cup or the Women's World Cup, it's a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the tournament with family, friends, and colleagues.
What is the World Cup Challenge format?
Our FIFA World Cup Challenge is broken into two stages: the Group Stage and the Knockout Stage. Both the Men's and Women's World Cup follow the same format — the only difference is that fewer countries participate in the Women's tournament.
Group Stage — The teams that qualified for the tournament (32 for men, 24 for women) are divided into groups of four. Each team competes in a round-robin with the other three teams in its group. The top two teams in each group advance to the Knockout Stage. In the Women's World Cup, the top four third-place teams also advance.
Knockout Stage — The remaining 16 teams compete in a single-elimination bracket. If you're familiar with the NCAA Basketball tournament, think of the Knockout Stage as the soccer equivalent of the Sweet 16.
How does a World Cup Challenge Contest work?
Contest Commissioners can choose to include both the Group Stage and Knockout Stage, or limit their Contest to just the Knockout Stage.
In the Group Stage, members predict the finishing position of each team in all groups. Points are awarded for each correct team ranking. For example, if 1 point is awarded per correct ranking, members can earn up to 32 points in the Group Stage (all 4 rankings correct across all 8 groups).
In the Knockout Stage, members pick all 15 games in the bracket and earn points for correct picks. Members pick the actual teams that qualified for bracket play — not those they predicted to advance — meaning they fill out their brackets after the Group Stage is completed.
Point values for both stages are fully configurable by the Contest Commissioner.
The goal is to finish with the most points at the end of the World Cup Tournament.
💡 Most World Cup Contests include the Group Stage to allow for more pick variation among members.
What reports and samples are available?
Here are some of the reports you and your members will have access to in your Contest:
