World’s Best FootGolfers to Gather in Orlando for the 2023 FIFG FootGolf World Cup
Initially, just over a decade ago in Hungary, and then in Argentina, followed by Morocco, and now this year in Florida, the FIFG FootGolf World Cup brings together the greatest FootGolfers on the planet.
Fans of this burgeoning sport, which is a hybrid that combines the skills of soccer with the etiquette of golf, can look forward to international competition at its very best when the 4th FIFG FootGolf World Cup is hosted in Orlando from May 27th – June 6th.
Footgolf Four-time National Champion Darrin Karuzas meets with the media at Walt Disney World Golf
If you’ve never seen or heard of the sport before, it’s certainly worth checking out. Individual and team competitions will take place on 18-hole FootGolf courses at Disney’s Palm Golf Course located at the Walt Disney World Resort and the new Evermore Orlando Resort. Players use their legs to kick the soccer ball instead of golf clubs and a golf ball. The winner is the player who gets the ball into the hole in the fewest number of kicks.
FootGolf has expanded internationally since the first World Cup was held in Hungary in 2012 when 79 athletes flew the flag for eight countries. Twenty-six countries were represented by 227 athletes when Argentina hosted the 2016 FootGolf World Cup, and 503 athletes from 33 countries competed in the 2018 edition, which took place in Morocco.
Fans fortunate enough to be on-site in Orlando will get the chance to watch around 1,000 players from nearly 40 different countries competing in three categories (men, senior men, and women’s divisions) in two different formats (individual stroke play and team match play).
“The FootGolf World Cup will showcase the world’s best FootGolfers, including No. 1 2022 FIFG World Tour ranked Cedric Bonnot of France, who will compete on some of FootGolf’s most naturally beautiful and challenging courses,” said the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG) president Laura Balestrini.
The 2023 FootGolf World Cup will be played under the game’s official rules, as established and updated earlier this year by the sport’s governing body, the FIFG. The primary function of the FIFG is to promote worldwide recognition of FootGolf, while it also oversees international development and growth to ensure equitable play for all players.
Disney’s Palm Golf Course, which will stage FootGolf World Cup events at Walt Disney World Golf, is no stranger to the sport, and just last year played host to the U.S. FootGolf Open, the Jansen Cup, and the Pacific Trophy.
Walt Disney World Golf, known as “The Happiest Place on TURF!” first featured FootGolf on Disney’s Oak TrailGolf Course in 2018, and it has since become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
“Our FootGolf offering here has served as a new gateway to our facilities,” said Alex Forsyth, Director of Sales and Marketing for Walt Disney World Golf, operated by Arnold Palmer Golf Management. “We’ve seen families and amateur players regularly visit Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course to play FootGolf, and now they can come and watch the world’s very best in action.”
The Walt Disney World Resort has always been home to miniature golf courses and driving ranges that are open to the public. In recent years, resort visitors have gotten their kicks playing FootGolf on Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course in the late afternoons on select days. For more information, please visit golfwdw.com/footgolf.
