Day: August 16, 2025

The international qualifiers are a key part of every football tournament, allowing teams from around the world to fight for a place in a major event. The format of qualifying tournaments has changed over time, but the overall concept remains the same – teams are grouped into zones that roughly correspond to continents and then compete for a set number of berths within the zone.

The top team in each group qualifies for the finals automatically, while runners-up enter an inter-confederation play-off for a further four places at the tournament. Each of the groups will contain a team from each of FIFA’s five pots, but there are some restrictions on who can be drawn against each other and when.

Europe will have 16 places at the finals, Africa will have a minimum of nine and Asia eight with two berths from North/Central America and Oceania also available to winners of inter-confederation play-offs. The draw for the second phase of World Cup qualifying will take place on 28 March.

The next stage sees the 14 group winners from Nations League A through to D and the top three teams in each of the remaining OFC groups ranked one through to seven based on their FIFA rankings enter the knockout stages. The matches in this phase are played over two legs and ties are decided by head-to-head comparison, goal difference and a penalty shootout if necessary. Occasionally a tie cannot be resolved by either method so if the scores are level after 90 minutes extra time is used and then penalties if required.

Sports are exciting to watch, but they’re even better in person. Whether it’s roaring along with the crowd at a World Cup match, feeling the whine of Formula 1 engines in your chest or seeing the puck hit the back of the net in sudden death overtime, there’s nothing quite like experiencing international sports in person. This year, there are a number of must-see events that will take place around the world.

The first international sporting event was the Ancient Olympic Games in 776 B.C. Athletes from city states of Ancient Greece traveled to Olympia to compete, setting a precedent for the international sporting events we know today. At that time, athletes were considered amateurs, meaning they primarily competed for the love of sport and not for financial gains or fame.

Since then, the Olympics has grown into a full-blown international spectacle, with the Modern Olympic Games beginning in 1896. The modern Olympics are held every four years and feature the best athletes from each country, as well as a wide variety of sports.

Other major international sports include the FIFA World Cup, the Ryder Cup (men’s golf), the Australian Open (tennis), the Calgary Stampede (rodeo), Giro d’Italia (cycling), and the America’s Cup (sailing). There are also regional multi-sport events that cater to a specific continent or region. These include the Asian Games, African Games, Pan American Games, and European Championships. Lastly, there is the Special Olympics, which features able-bodied and para sport events for people with intellectual disabilities.