World Military Cup
| Founded | 1946 |
|---|---|
| Region | International (CISM) |
| Current champions | M: Bahrain (2019) W: South Korea (2023) |
| Most successful team(s) | Men: Italy (8 titles) Women: Brazil (5 titles) |
| 2019 Military World Games | |
The World Military Cup is an international association football competition contested by national military teams. Organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM), the tournament was first held in 1946 under the title World Military Championship. The name was changed to the World Military Cup ahead of the 2001 edition.
In 1995, the Military World Games—a multi-sport event for military personnel—was established, and the football championship became an integrated discipline within the Games. Despite this integration, the football tournament continues to be organized as a standalone biennial event under CISM governance.
A counterpart competition for women, the World Military Women's Championship, was established in 2001. Both tournaments remain key fixtures in CISM's sporting calendar, promoting camaraderie and sportsmanship among armed forces globally.
History
The inaugural World Military Championship was hosted in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) in 1946, organized by the Armed Forces Sports Council (AFSC). In 1948, the AFSC was restructured and renamed the International Military Sports Council (CISM), which has governed the competition since. Great Britain won the first title, defeating host nation Czechoslovakia in the final, where the latter finished as runners-up.[1]
Format
Since 2013, the World Military Cup has been restructured into two distinct competitions. The CISM World Football Cup, held on a four-year cycle, debuted in its current format in 2013. Its second edition took place from 23 to 28 January 2017 in Muscat, Oman.
Separately, the Military World Games—a multi-sport event organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM)—features a football tournament branded as the Military World Championship. This competition also follows a four-year cycle, running concurrently with the Games.[1]
Qualifications
Teams qualify for the World Military Cup through continental tournaments organized by each confederation under CISM governance. The qualifying competitions are as follows:
| Confederation | Championship |
|---|---|
| Asia | Asian Military Qualifying Tournament |
| Africa | African Military Cup |
| Americas | Americas Military Cup |
| Europe | European Military Qualifying Tournament |
These tournaments determine the regional representatives for the final World Military Cup event.
Results
Men
Military World Championship
A football tournament has been held as part of the Military World Games every four years since 1995. This competition is recognized as part of the World Military Championship.
| Year | Host | Final | Third Place Match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-Up | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | ||||
| 1946 Details |
Prague | United Kingdom |
Czechoslovakia |
Belgium |
|||||
| 1947 Details |
Hanover | Belgium |
Netherlands |
Denmark |
|||||
| 1948 Details |
Copenhagen | France |
Belgium |
Denmark |
Luxembourg | ||||
| 1949 Details |
Lille / Paris | France |
3–1 | Turkey |
Belgium |
3–1 | Netherlands | ||
| 1950 Details |
The Hague | Italy |
2–1 | Belgium |
France |
4–4 (France win on corners) |
Netherlands | ||
| 1951 Details |
Cairo | Italy |
3–1 | Egypt |
France |
3–1 | Belgium | ||
| 1952 Details |
Athens | Greece |
3–2 | Belgium |
Netherlands |
1–0 | Turkey | ||
| 1953 Details |
Ankara / Istanbul 1 | Belgium |
n/a | Turkey |
Greece | ||||
| 1954 Details |
Brussels | Belgium |
5–1 | Turkey |
Portugal |
1–0 | France | ||
| 1955 Details |
Rome | Turkey |
n/a | Italy |
Egypt |
n/a | Netherlands | ||
| 1956 Details |
Lisbon | Italy |
n/a | Portugal |
Egypt |
n/a | Turkey | ||
| 1957 Details |
Buenos Aires | France |
n/a | Argentina |
Italy |
n/a | Brazil | ||
| 1958 Details |
Lisbon | Portugal |
2–1 | France |
Netherlands |
4–3 | Belgium | ||
| 1959 Details |
Florence 1 | Italy |
n/a | Portugal |
France | ||||
| 1960 Details |
Oran 2 | Belgium |
n/a | Turkey |
Greece |
n/a | France | ||
| 1961 Details |
Ankara | Turkey |
n/a | Greece |
France |
n/a | Netherlands | ||
| 1962 Details |
Seoul | Greece |
1st leg: 3–1 2nd leg: 1–2 |
South Korea |
Turkey |
||||
| 1963 Details |
Athens / Saloniki | Greece |
n/a | Belgium |
France and Turkey | ||||
| 1964 Details |
Ankara / Istanbul | France |
n/a | Turkey |
West Germany and Netherlands | ||||
| 1965 Details |
Gijón | Spain |
3–0 | Turkey |
Morocco |
2–1 | Belgium | ||
| 1966 Details |
Rabat | Turkey |
1st leg: 2–1 2nd leg: 0–0 |
Morocco |
Netherlands and Spain | ||||
| 1967 Details |
Brussels | Turkey |
n/a | Belgium |
Morocco and Netherlands | ||||
| 1968 Details |
Baghdad | Greece |
4–1 | Turkey |
Netherlands and Spain | ||||
| 1969 Details |
Athens | Greece |
w/o | Algeria |
Iran |
1–1 | South Korea | ||
| 1972 Details |
Baghdad | Iraq |
n/a | Italy |
Greece |
n/a | Turkey | ||
| 1973 Details |
Brazzaville | Italy |
n/a | Iraq |
Kuwait |
n/a | Congo | ||
| 1975 Details |
Hagen | West Germany |
1–0 | Netherlands |
Kuwait |
6–5 (a.e.t.) | Cameroon | ||
| 1977 Details |
Damascus | Iraq |
0–0 (5–4 p) |
Kuwait |
Italy |
3–1 (a.e.t.) | France | ||
| 1979 Details |
Kuwait City | Iraq |
0–0 (4–3 p) |
Italy |
Kuwait |
3–1 | Austria | ||
| 1981 Details |
Doha | Kuwait |
1–0 | Qatar |
Syria |
2–0 | France | ||
| 1983 Details |
Kuwait City | Kuwait |
2–0 | Belgium |
|||||
| 1987 Details |
Arezzo | Italy |
2–0 | West Germany |
Egypt |
4–1 | Belgium | ||
| 1989 Details |
Caserta | Italy |
3–0 | Morocco |
Belgium |
1–0 | United Arab Emirates | ||
| 1991 Details |
Arnhem / Apeldoorn | Italy |
3–3 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) |
Germany |
Turkey |
1–0 | France | ||
| 1993 Details |
Rabat | Egypt |
3–2 (a.e.t.) | Morocco |
Germany |
3–0 | France | ||
| 1995 Details |
Rome * | France |
1–0 | Iran |
South Korea |
1–0 | Cyprus | ||
| 1997 Details |
Tehran | Greece |
1–0 | Italy |
France |
3–2 (a.e.t.) | Burkina Faso | ||
| 1999 Details |
Zagreb * | Egypt |
3–3 (5–4 p) |
Greece |
Croatia |
2–0 | Germany | ||
| 2001 Details |
Cairo | Egypt |
3–0 | Greece |
North Korea |
5–0 | Guinea | ||
| 2003 Details |
Catania * | North Korea |
3–2 | Egypt |
Italy |
3–2 | Lithuania | ||
| 2005 Details |
Warendorf | Egypt |
1–0 | Algeria |
Qatar |
3–1 | Germany | ||
| 2007 Details |
Hyderabad * | Egypt |
2–0 | Cameroon |
North Korea |
2–0 | Qatar | ||
| 2011 Details |
Rio de Janeiro * [2] | Algeria |
1–0 | Egypt |
Brazil |
1–0 (a.e.t.) | Qatar | ||
| 2015 Details |
Mungyeong * | Algeria |
2–0 (a.e.t.) | Oman |
South Korea |
3–2 | Egypt | ||
| 2019 Details |
Wuhan * | Bahrain |
3–1 | Qatar |
Algeria |
4–0 | North Korea | ||
- ^n/a Round-robin tournament determined final standings.
- ^n1 Only three teams in the final group.
- ^n2 Tournament held in French Algeria.
- * Event integrated into the Military World Games.
CISM World Football Cup
| Year | Host | Final | Third Place Match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-Up | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | ||||
| 2013 Details |
Baku | Iraq |
3–2 | Oman |
Ivory Coast |
1–0 | Azerbaijan | ||
| 2017 Details |
Muscat | Oman |
0–0 (4–1 p) |
Qatar |
Syria |
2 – 2 (6–5 p) |
Egypt | ||
Teams reaching the top four
| Team | Titles | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 8 (1950, 1951, 1956, 1959, 1973, 1987, 1989, 1991) | 4 (1955, 1972, 1979, 1997) | 3 (1957, 1977, 2003) | — | 15 |
| Greece | 6 (1952, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1997) | 3 (1961, 1999, 2001) | 3 (1953, 1960, 1972) | — | 12 |
| Egypt | 5 (1993, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007) | 3 (1951, 2003, 2011) | 3 (1955, 1956, 1987) | 2 (2015, 2017) | 13 |
| France | 5 (1948, 1949, 1957, 1964, 1995) | 1 (1958) | 6 (1950, 1951, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1997) | 6 (1954, 1960, 1977, 1981, 1991, 1993) | 18 |
| Turkey | 4 (1955, 1961, 1966, 1967) | 7 (1949, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1968) | 2 (1962, 1991) | 4 (1952, 1956, 1963, 1972) | 17 |
| Belgium | 4 (1947, 1953, 1954, 1960) | 6 (1948, 1950, 1952, 1963, 1967, 1983) | 3 (1946, 1949, 1989) | 4 (1951, 1958, 1965, 1987) | 14 |
| Iraq | 4 (1972, 1977, 1979, 2013) | 1 (1973) | — | — | 5 |
| Algeria | 2 (2011, 2015) | 2 (1969, 2005) | 1 (2019) | — | 5 |
| Kuwait | 2 (1981, 1983) | 1 (1977) | 3 (1973, 1975, 1979) | — | 6 |
| Germany | 1 (1975) | 2 (1987, 1991) | 2 (1964, 1993) | 2 (1999, 2005) | 7 |
| Portugal | 1 (1958) | 2 (1956, 1959) | 1 (1954) | — | 4 |
| Oman | 1 (2017) | 2 (2013, 2015) | — | — | 3 |
| North Korea | 1 (2003) | — | 2 (2001, 2007) | 1 (2019) | 4 |
| Spain | 1 (1965) | — | — | 2 (1966, 1968) | 3 |
| Bahrain | 1 (2019) | — | — | — | 1 |
| England | 1 (1946) | — | — | — | 1 |
| Morocco | — | 3 (1966, 1989, 1993) | 2 (1965, 1967) | — | 5 |
| Qatar | — | 3 (1981, 2017, 2019) | 1 (2005) | 2 (2007, 2011) | 6 |
| Netherlands | — | 2 (1947, 1975) | 4 (1952, 1958, 1966, 1968) | 6 (1949, 1950, 1955, 1961, 1964, 1967) | 12 |
| Iran | — | 1 (1995) | 1 (1969) | — | 2 |
| South Korea | — | 1 (1962) | 2 (1995, 2015) | — | 3 |
| Cameroon | — | 1 (2007) | — | 1 (1975) | 2 |
| Argentina | — | 1 (1957) | — | — | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia | — | 1 (1946) | — | — | 1 |
| Denmark | — | — | 2 (1947, 1948) | — | 2 |
| Syria | — | — | 2 (1981, 2017) | — | 2 |
| Brazil | — | — | 1 (2011) | 1 (1957) | 2 |
| Croatia | — | — | 1 (1999) | — | 1 |
| Ivory Coast | — | — | 1 (2013) | — | 1 |
| Austria | — | — | — | 1 (1979) | 1 |
| Congo | — | — | — | 1 (1973) | 1 |
| Cyprus | — | — | — | 1 (1995) | 1 |
| Guinea | — | — | — | 1 (2001) | 1 |
| Lithuania | — | — | — | 1 (2003) | 1 |
| Luxembourg | — | — | — | 1 (1948) | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates | — | — | — | 1 (1989) | 1 |
| Burkina Faso | — | — | — | 1 (1997) | 1 |
| Azerbaijan | — | — | — | 1 (2013) | 1 |
Women
| Year | Host nation | Final | Third Place Match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Second Place | Third Place | Score | Fourth Place | ||||
| 2001 Details |
Netherlands | Germany |
n/a | Netherlands |
England |
n/a | Canada | ||
| 2002 Details |
Kingston | United States |
1–0 | Germany |
Netherlands |
4–0 | Canada | ||
| 2003 Details |
Warendorf | Germany |
7–3 | Netherlands |
United States |
1–0 | Canada | ||
| 2004 Details |
Fort Eustis | Netherlands |
3–0 (a.e.t.) | Germany |
United States |
3–1 | Canada | ||
| 2006 Details |
Assen | Netherlands |
2–0 | United States |
Germany |
6–4 (a.e.t.) | France | ||
| 2007 Details |
Hyderabad * | North Korea |
5–0 | Germany |
France |
1–0 | Netherlands | ||
| 2008 Details |
Ede | Germany |
3–0 | France |
Netherlands |
2–1 | South Korea | ||
| 2009 Details |
Biloxi | Brazil |
1–0 | South Korea |
Netherlands |
2–1 | France | ||
| 2010 Details |
Cherbourg-Octeville | Brazil |
1–0 | South Korea |
France |
2–1 | Netherlands | ||
| 2011 Details |
Rio de Janeiro * | Brazil |
5–0 | Germany |
Netherlands |
2–0 | France | ||
| 2012 Details |
Warendorf | Germany |
1–0 | South Korea |
Brazil |
2–0 | France | ||
| 2015 Details |
Mungyeong * | Brazil |
2–1 (a.e.t.) | France |
South Korea |
3–0 | Netherlands | ||
| 2016 Details |
France | France |
2–1 | Brazil |
South Korea |
3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p) |
Cameroon | ||
| 2018 Details |
Fort Bliss | Brazil |
3–2 | South Korea |
China |
3–1 | France | ||
| 2019 Details |
Wuhan * | North Korea |
2–1 | China |
Brazil |
3–1 | South Korea | ||
| 2020 | Yaoundé[3] | Cancelled | Cancelled | ||||||
| 2022 Details |
Spokane | France |
2–1 | Cameroon |
South Korea |
3–0 | United States | ||
| 2023 Details |
Bunschoten-Spakenburg | South Korea |
1–0 | France |
Cameroon |
4–0 | Netherlands | ||
| 2025 Details |
Pyongyang | – | – | ||||||
- ^n/a Round-robin tournament determined final standings.
- * Event integrated into the Military World Games.
Teams reaching the top four
| Team | Titles | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 5 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2018) | 1 (2016) | 2 (2012, 2019) | — | 8 |
| Germany | 4 (2001, 2003, 2008, 2012) | 4 (2002, 2004, 2007, 2011) | 1 (2006) | — | 9 |
| France | 2 (2016, 2022) | 3 (2008, 2015, 2023) | 2 (2007, 2010) | 5 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2018) | 12 |
| Netherlands | 2 (2004, 2006) | 2 (2001, 2003) | 4 (2002, 2008, 2009, 2011) | 4 (2007, 2010, 2015, 2023) | 12 |
| North Korea | 2 (2007, 2019) | — | — | — | 2 |
| South Korea | 1 (2023) | 4 (2009, 2010, 2012, 2018) | 3 (2015, 2016, 2022) | 2 (2008, 2019) | 10 |
| United States | 1 (2002) | 1 (2006) | 2 (2003, 2004) | 1 (2022) | 5 |
| Cameroon | — | 1 (2022) | 1 (2023) | 1 (2016) | 3 |
| China | — | 1 (2019) | 1 (2018) | — | 2 |
| England | — | — | 1 (2001) | — | 1 |
| Canada | — | — | — | 4 (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) | 4 |
See also
- International Military Sports Council
- Football at the Military World Games
- African Military Cup
- Americas Military Cup
References
- ^ a b "CISM World Football Cup". CISM. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "5th Military World Games – Football competition". 2011 Military World Games official website. 24 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
- ^ "Cancellation of the 13th World Military Women's Football Championship". CISM official website. CISM Media and Communication Department. 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2022-07-15.