Featuring 64 teams drawn from 25 nations, the official draw for the FIWFA World Nations Cup was ‘live streamed’ across the world on Saturday evening from the Habaneras Shopping Centre in Torrevieja. The event was overseen by Paul Carr, Founder and CEO of the World Governing Body, who flew in from the UK specifically for the occasion. He was joined by directors and officials from the 2025 host nation, Team Spain.
The draw ceremony was conducted by Torrevieja Councillor for Sport, Diana Box; Councillor for Integration, Oscar Ángel Urtasun North; and the Director of Sporting Events for the city, Javier López.
Week One Draw: 21–24 October
The first phase of the draw covered the competitions scheduled from 21 to 24 October, focusing on the Ladies Over 40s, Men’s Over 70s, and Men’s Over 50s categories.
Ladies Over 40s
This ‘Round Robin’ group will kick off with Spain facing Australia in the opening match. Other first-round fixtures include the Czech Republic vs England and Wales vs Japan. France will join the competition in the second round of matches. The top four teams will progress to the semi-finals.
Men’s Over 70s
The opening round of fixtures for the Men’s Over 70s are:
- Netherlands vs Canada
- Italy vs Basque Country
- England vs Australia
- Japan vs France
As with the Ladies Over 40s, the top four teams from the group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Men’s Over 50s
This category attracted the highest number of entries, with 20 nations competing. Top-seeded teams—England (world number one), Czech Republic (world number two), and host nation Spain—were placed in separate groups. The draw resulted in the following pools:
- Group A: England, Australia, Basque Country, Colombia, Singapore, Italy, Scotland
- Group B: Czech Republic, Canada, Jersey, Cyprus, Morocco, Japan, France
- Group C: Spain, Rwanda, Egypt, Wales, Nigeria, Portugal
The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarter-finals.
Week Two Draw: 28–31 October
The second week of the tournament, from 28 to 31 October, will feature competitions in the Ladies Over 60s, Ladies Over 50s, and Men’s Over 60s categories.
Ladies Over 60s
A single round-robin league will be played among the following teams:
Japan, England, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Wales.
Ladies Over 50s
This age group will also be contested as a single league, contested by the following nations:
Spain, England, France, Wales, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong.
Men’s Over 60s
This category features 16 nations divided into two groups. England and Spain are the seeded teams in Groups A and B respectively.
- Group A: England, Hong Kong, Brazil, Jersey, Japan, Basque Country, France, Northern Ireland
- Group B: Spain, Australia, Italy, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Canada, Morocco, Nigeria
While there isn’t an official ranking system, the outcomes of major tournaments like the FIWFA World Nations Cup offer valuable insights into the strengths of national walking football teams.
As of 2025, several national teams have established themselves as strong contenders in the world of walking football, particularly in the Over-50 and Over-60 age categories. At the last major competition held at St Georges Park, England’s National Football Centre, the home country emerged as the dominant nation, winning both the Over-50 and Over-60 categories while in the Over-50s group, England defeated Czech Republic on penalties after a 1-1 draw, In the Over-60s competition the England team secured a 3-0 victory over France in the final.
Other notable teams to watch include Spain, which reached the Over-50 semi-finals, and Canada, whose Over-60 team finished fourth on their debut, with standout performances and individual accolades.
Czech Republic also impressed by reaching the Over-50 final, and France advanced to the Over-60 final. Northern Ireland made it to the Over-60 quarter-finals, showing their solid progress.
Emerging teams such as Jersey and Rwanda also made notable debuts, with Jersey advancing to the Over-50 quarter-finals and Rwanda finishing ninth in their category.
Looking ahead to the tournament in October, to be held in Torrevieja’s Sports City, Saturday’s draw has now finally laid the groundwork for what promises to be the most globally representative event ever held in walking football – the world’s fastest-growing sport. With broad international participation across all age groups and categories, anticipation is building for what will surely be a truly landmark competition.
