The FootGolf World Cup is coming! Get out and practice those skills!
If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ve seen that FootGolf in America has steadily gained traction and interest from various groups, especially those traditionally supportive of either soccer or golf. Then, at the beginning of 2015, the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG) announced that the second official FIFG World Cup was slated to take place sometime near the end of 2015 or in 2016.
What does this mean for FootGolf?
This announcement comes at a time when the golf industry has actively been searching for new ways to generate interest and excitement in the game. FootGolf is just one of the many makeovers the traditional game of golf has received in the past few years—others include SpeedGolf, 15-inch holes, and Glowball.
FootGolf has quickly generated a supportive fan base and courses now reside in 45 states, with over 30 AFGL-accredited FootGolf courses in Los Angeles and Orange County alone.
Looking back at FootGolf history
While FootGolf as a game has been played under several different names and with differing rules for years, the birth of FootGolf as it is played today began in 2001, expanding across Europe as a popular sport in 2010, culminating with the creation of the FIFG that same year.
The first FootGolf World Cup was held in Budapest, Hungary in June 2012 with eight countries participating—the U.S. being one of them. To view the official video of the match, click here. Only one month later the first FootGolf event in the U.S. occurred in Wisconsin, further cementing the FootGolf presence in the States. 2012 was a busy year for FootGolf, as several other Alliances and Groups were founded, and only a year later the sport had gained enough recognition and interest that the FIFG released a revised Official Rulebook for the sport.
The 2nd Annual FIFG World Cup
The first step to hosting the next FootGolf World Cup is choosing the host country. The bidding process for what country will host the upcoming World Cup is set to begin March 1, 2015. To be considered in the process, a country must be a current Member of the Federation for International FootGolf, and already several of the 30 current member countries have expressed keen interest in hosting this prestigious event.
The organizer of the first FootGolf World Cup, Gabor Gelencser, spoke to why 2015/2016 is ideal timing for the second World Cup event.
“Now is the ideal time to hold the second edition,” Gelencser said. “FootGolf has been played for a few years in several countries… and the last few years have seen a surge of excellent FootGolf players emerging from all corners of the globe as international competitions have begun to develop.”
Over 20 international FootGolf competitions are already booked for 2015, with more being discussed for the future. The January official announcement that there will be a second World Cup is also good news for passionate FootGolf players across the world, who – as Laura Balestrini of the American FootGolf League (AFGL) points out – “… can now focus on perfecting their game to be able to compete for the U.S. in the World Cup.”
The U.S. FootGolf Team will represent the AFGL in the World Cup, and American players can qualify for a spot on the team by participating in the 2015 Pro-Am FootGolf Tour, which hosts events May through August, culminating with the National FootGolf Championship held in November 2015.
To view the current 2015 tournament schedule for the AFGL, visit www.footgolf.net/ and click on “TOURNAMENTS.”
If you’re looking to practice your FootGolf skills
Before attending a FootGolf tournament, check out one of the many FootGolf courses in your neighborhood or any number of Los Angeles FootGolf and Orange County FootGolf courses that are available for online FootGolf tee time booking. GoFootGolf.com not only provides a wealth of information about FootGolf and nearby FootGolf courses, you can also book FootGolf tee times directly through the site!