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How to qualify for the Games of the Future

The pathway at a glance

  1. Join a WPC member tournament — register a club or join an existing one
  2. Compete at Phygital Origins — local/regional stage
  3. Advance to Phygital Rivals — national stage
  4. Global Club Rankings — ranks 1-6 qualify directly; ranks 7-22 go to Phygital Contenders
  5. Phygital Contenders — decides the final 6 places at the Games of the Future

The Games of the Future qualification pathway gives phygital athletes and clubs worldwide a clear route to the world's leading phygital sporting event. Two organizations run it together.

The World Phygital Community (WPC) delivers the grassroots stages — Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals — through its network of member organizations.
Phygital International delivers Phygital Contenders and the Games themselves, working with WPC throughout.

For the 2026/27 season, Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing share one ranking-based pathway:

Phygital Origins → Phygital Rivals → direct qualification or Phygital Contenders.

Phygital Shooter follows a separate, fully online route, with Phygital Rivals winners advancing straight to Phygital Contenders.


Step 1 — Join a WPC Member tournament

The World Phygital Community (WPC) is a global network of 120 member organizations dedicated to developing phygital sport. WPC members run local competitions and official tournaments — the foundation of the qualification pathway.
To start, contact a WPC member to join an existing club or register your own. They'll explain registration requirements, eligibility criteria, and how to enter competitions in your region.

Phygital sport is club-based, not nationality-based. You can join any club affiliated with a recognized WPC member, in any country, as long as you meet that club's registration requirements.

Find your nearest WPC member

Step 2 — Compete at Phygital Origins

Phygital Origins are entry-level local tournaments held within a WPC member's territory, whether at city, provincial or regional level. They are open to registered clubs and represent the first competitive stage of the qualification pathway.

For Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing, all Phygital Origins tournaments must be approved through the WPC+ platform and conducted using WPC-approved technical rules.

A WPC member may choose to go straight to hosting Phygital Rivals without running Phygital Origins first.

Results are assessed using the Event Quality Bonus (EQB) system. This evaluates each tournament independently based on criteria such as technical delivery, reporting, competition format and event management. The marketing and promotional scoring used in previous seasons has been removed.

The 2026/27 season begins on 10 August 2026.

Phygital Shooter: Unlike the other disciplines, Phygital Shooter does not use this qualification structure. Its Phygital Origins competitions take place online through an approved platform (or approved regional alternatives where required) and do not include a physical stage.


Step 3 — Advance to Phygital Rivals

Where Phygital Origins are held, the tournament winner qualifies automatically for Phygital Rivals. Remaining places are allocated by Phygital Origins ranking.

One rule to know: a club can compete in only one WPC member's tournament ecosystem per season. If you enter one member's Phygital Origins or Rivals competition, you can't also enter another member's.

Phygital Rivals moves up a level — from city/regional competition to the strongest clubs in the country, competing for national honours and global ranking points.


Step 4 — Global Club Rankings

Once all Phygital Rivals tournaments have ended, WPC publishes the global club rankings for each discipline.
For Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing, rankings are based on clubs' performances across Phygital Origins and Phygital Rivals — with the Event Quality Bonus applied to each tournament.

These rankings decide who qualifies directly for the Games of the Future, and which advance to Phygital Contenders.
For each discipline:

  • Clubs ranked 1-6 qualify directly for the Games of the Future.
  • Clubs ranked 7-22 qualify for Phygital Contenders, where they compete for the remaining qualification places.

Phygital Shooter does not use the global club rankings. Instead, the winners of each Phygital Rivals tournament qualify directly for Phygital Contenders.


Step 5 — Direct Qualification vs. Phygital Contenders

Phygital Football, Phygital Basketball and Phygital Dancing each feature 16 clubs at a Games of the Future tournament.

Qualification places are allocated as follows:

  • 6 clubs qualify directly through the global club rankings after Phygital Rivals.
  • 6 clubs qualify through Phygital Contenders.
  • 2 clubs are reserved for the host city.
  • 2 clubs receive direct invitations from Phygital International.

The previous automatic qualification place awarded to the reigning Games of the Future champion has been removed, meaning every club must qualify through the official pathway each season.

Phygital Contenders is the third stage of the pathway and is delivered by Phygital International in collaboration with WPC. It brings together clubs ranked 7th to 22nd following Phygital Rivals, who compete head-to-head for the final six qualification places.

From the 2026/27 season onwards, Phygital Contenders will also be the final qualifying event for Phygital Shooter. However, Phygital Origins, Phygital Rivals and Phygital Contenders will be online tournaments — only in the Games of the Future will Phygital Shooter have both a physical and digital part.

What's changed for 2026/27

  • Event Quality Bonus (EQB): marketing and promotional scoring has been removed. Tournaments are now scored only on objective operational criteria-technical delivery, reporting, competition format and event management.
  • Reigning champion's place removed: the automatic qualification place previously given to the Games of the Future title holder no longer exists. Every club, including the champion, must qualify through the pathway this season.

Common questions

Do I need to compete for my home country?
No. Phygital sport is club-based. You can join any club affiliated with a recognized WPC member, in any country, provided you meet that club's requirements.

Can the reigning champion skip qualification?
No, not this season. The automatic qualification place previously given to the reigning champion has been removed for 2026/27 — every club must qualify through the pathway.

How many clubs compete at the Games of the Future?
16 clubs per discipline (Football, Basketball, Dancing): 6 direct qualifiers, 6 from Phygital Contenders, 2 host-city places and 2 direct invitations.

When does the 2026/27 season start?
10 August 2026.

*These are the rules and qualification pathway for the 2026/27 WPC season and are subject to change in future seasons.

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