Quidditch World Cup

Quidditch World Cup
Quidditch tournament information
Founded	1473
Format	Knockout
Fixtures v each team	1
Held	Different country every four years
Participating teams	Argentina Australia Bulgaria Burkina Faso United Kingdom (Post 2016) Brazil Chad China Egypt England (Pre 2016) Fiji Flanders France Germany India Ireland Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Luxembourg Madagascar Mexico (New Spain) Morocco The Nordic Team Peru Portugal Romania Scotland (Pre 2016) Senegal South Africa Spain Syria Transylvania Uganda United States Wales New Zealand Other International Teams
Trophy	Gold with a Snitch on top
Known winners	Transylvania or Flanders (1473) New Spain (1809) Australia (1966) Syria (1974) Canada (1990) Ireland (1994) Malawi (1998) Egypt (2002) Burkina Faso (2006) Moldova (2010) Bulgaria (2014)

"A source of vehement disagreements, a security risk for all who attend it and a frequent focus for unrest and protest, the Quidditch World Cup is simultaneously the most exhilarating sporting event on earth and a logistical nightmare for the host nation."

— Description of the Quidditch World Cup

The Quidditch World Cup (also called the World Cup or World Championship) was held every four years since 1473. The competition saw Quidditch teams representing countries around the world to compete for the World Cup, while the International Quidditch Tournament was between regional teams.

History

The Official Guide to the Quidditch World Cup

The Official Guide to the Quidditch World Cup was the official guidebook to the Quidditch World Cup, written and published by the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee, providing information on the rules and history of the Quidditch World Cup. Sold in most reputable bookstores, this tome cost thirty-nine Galleons, leading most wizards and witches to call it overpriced.

The tournament was held every four years since 1473. As with so much else about the wizarding world’s most important sporting competition, many queried the accuracy of this statement. As only European teams competed during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, purists preferred to date the Quidditch World Cup’s inception from the seventeenth century when it became open to all continents.

There was also heated debate about the accuracy of some historical accounts of tournaments. A substantial amount of all post-game analysis centred on whether magical interference took place and whether it made, or ought to have made, the final result moot.

Regulations

"The ICWQC has the unlucky job of regulating this contentious and anarchic competition."

— Description of the ICWQC

Nineteen volume rulebook

The ICWQC was an international regulatory body, subject to the International Confederation of Wizards, that oversaw international Quidditch competitions, such as the World Cup. Namely, it located suitable venues, arranged transportation for spectators, and provided policing for the games themselves. It was also the ICWQC that chose the referees for World Cup matches.<

The rulebook concerning both on-and-off pitch magic was alleged to stretch to nineteen volumes and to include such rules as ‘no dragon is to be introduced into the stadium for any purpose including, but not limited to, team mascot, coach or cup warmer’ and ‘modification of any part of the referee’s body, whether or not he or she has requested such modification, will lead to a lifetime ban from the tournament and possibly imprisonment.'

Mentor Metaxas, a Greek wizard, was the chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee in 2014.

Statute of Secrecy

A watershed moment for the Quidditch World Cup was the implementation of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692, which was intended to conceal the existence of magic and wizards. The International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) saw the Quidditch World Cup as a security risk of the highest magnitude because of the mass movement and congregation of so many members of the international wizarding community.

However, following mass protests and threats to the ICW, it was agreed that the tournament could continue and a regulatory body — the ICWQC — was set up to locate suitable venues — usually remote moors, deserts and deserted islands — arrange transportation for spectators (as many as a hundred thousand routinely attend finals) and police the games themselves, a task generally agreed to be among the most thankless and difficult in the wizarding world.

Format and Qualifying

The number of participating countries varied from tournament to tournament. Any country could enter a team within twelve months of the previous final.

Quidditch World Cup Qualifying

Sixteen separate groups of teams were formed. Each team played all of the other teams in their group over a two year period. During the group phase, there was a cap of four hours on every game to avoid player exhaustion. On the occasion that the game ended after four hours of play and the Golden Snitch wasn't caught, the result was decided by the amount of goals scored. A win earned two points.

In addition to these two points, a win by 150 points earned five points, by 100 points an extra three points and by 50 points an extra one point. If two teams were level on points, they were separated by whichever team captured the Snitch most often, or most quickly during their matches. The sixteen teams who finished top of the sixteen groups qualified for the World Cup.

The Quidditch World Cup

The tournament proper was straight knockout. The sixteen qualified countries were ranked according to how many points they obtained in the qualifying groups. The team who won the most points played the team who earned the least, the team who earned the second most played the team who earned the second least, and so on. This theoretically allowed the two best teams from the qualifying phase to meet in the final. For the 2014 Quidditch World Cup though, Nigeria and Norway were the top seeded teams and could face each other as early as the semi-finals.

Recorded World Cups

15th-18th century

Date	Notes
1473	This was the first ever Quidditch World Cup. Only European teams participated. The final was contested between Flanders and Transylvania. During the match, all 700 known fouls were committed (and several new ones subsequently created), including the Transfiguration of a Chaser into a polecat, the attempted decapitation of a Keeper with a broadsword, and the release of a hundred vampire bats from underneath the robes of the Transylvanian Captain. The Transylvanian Tackle was also first performed in the 1473 World Cup.
17th century	Non-European teams compete in the tournament for the first time.

19th century

Date	Notes
1801 or 1805	The Cup is held in Great Britain as a result of lobbying by British Minister for Magic Artemisia Lufkin.
1809 Attack of the Killer Forest	The 1809 Quidditch World Cup was a major catastrophe and one of the most notorious controversies in the history of the World Cup, as well as the worst exhibition of temper ever given by a player. It resulted in several injuries and even death.
1877 Tournament that Nobody Remembers	The 1878 Cup was a restaging of the 1877 Cup (dubbed 'The Tournament That No One Remembers'). The tournament has been held every four years since the recall. A tournament was arranged for 1877, with a venue chosen, tickets sold and merchandise produced, but nobody, player or supporter, could remember having attended any matches.
1878	Argentina and Brazil reached the quarter finals.

20th century

Date	Notes
c. 1964	Britain hosted the World Cup.
1966	Australia won this tournament, with Chaser Royston Idlewind.
1974 Royston Idlewind and the Dissimulators	The 1974 Quidditch World Cup was an international Quidditch sporting event that took place in the summer of 1974. It was the 417th edition of the World Cup. It was won by the Syrian Quidditch team.
1982	The Brazilian National Quidditch team participated in the Quidditch World Cup. The team made it to the finals.
1986	The American National Quidditch team participated in the Quidditch World Cup. Maximus Brankovitch III was their captain and Seeker.
1990	The U.S.A. participated in this year's World Cup. Brankovitch III was their captain again. The final went on for five days, in which Scotland suffered a bitter defeat against Canada.
1994 Reappearance of the Dark Mark	"Granger, they're after Muggles. D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh." — Draco Malfoy regarding the targets of the Riot This was one of the most notable controversies in the history of the Quidditch World Cup, occurring on 18 August, 1994 in Dartmoor, England. A riot broke out when a large group of Death Eaters stormed Mr Roberts's campsite, destroying everything in their wake, torturing Muggles and Muggle-borns alike. The Death Eaters were fought by Ministry of Magic employees. It ended when Barty Crouch Jnr fired the Dark Mark into the sky causing most of the Death Eaters to Disapparate. Afterward, Bartemius Crouch Snr's house-elf Winky was fired when she was found in possession of the wand that made the Mark, and Rita Skeeter wrote a scathing report about the raid criticising the Ministry's security at the Cup. The results of the Cup were: Transylvania defeated England, 390-10 Luxembourg defeated Scotland Uganda defeated Wales Semi-final: Ireland defeated Peru Final: Ireland defeated Bulgaria, 170-160
1998	"YOU-KNOW-WHO CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM: QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP CANCELLED AMID DEATH THREATS." — The Quibbler headline During the Death Eater regime over Britain in 1997-1998, the Quidditch World Cup was reportedly cancelled. This resulted in a number of death threats directed to the British Ministry of Magic. After the Battle of Hogwarts, the de-corrupted Ministry (now led by Kingsley Shacklebolt) still managed to organise the World Cup, in which Malawi won over Senegal in the finals.

21st century

Date	Notes
2002	Egypt won against Bulgaria when Rawya Zaghloul caught the Snitch right before Viktor Krum. It was such a loss that Viktor Krum then tearfully resigned.
2006	Burkina Faso won against France. The Burkinabé Seeker Joshua Sankara, became the Minister of Magic in his country for 2 days before he resigned to continue playing Quidditch.
2010	Moldova won against China. The match lasted 3 days, and contained some of the finest Quidditch ever seen.
2014	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals                                        Ivory Coast 100    Norway 340      Norway 20      Bulgaria 170    Bulgaria 410  New Zealand 170      Bulgaria 610      Japan 460    Japan 350    Poland 140      Japan 270    Nigeria 100    Fiji 160  Nigeria 400      Bulgaria 170    Brazil 60  Jamaica 230    USA 240      USA 450    Liechtenstein 290    Chad 330  Liechtenstein 470      USA 310    Brazil 420    Brazil 100    Haiti DQ*      Brazil 460    Wales 300    Germany 100  Wales 330   *Disqualified (90 points + illegal capture of the Snitch). NB: There was a play-off between the semifinals losers to determine third place; Japan beat the USA 330 to 120.

Winners

The Quidditch World Cup trophy

The Quidditch World Cup trophy as seen on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

• 1473 - Transylvania
• 1966 - Australia
• 1974 - Syria
• 1982 - Brazil
• 1990 - Canada
• 1994 - Ireland
• 1998 - Malawi
• 2002 - Egypt
• 2006 - Burkina Faso
• 2010 - Moldova
• 2014 - Bulgaria

Behind the scenes

The Quidditch World Cup Stadium in 1994

• The cup was held every four years until the Tournament that Nobody Remembers, at which point it was held two years in a row because nobody recalled it. Then it was held every four years again from 1878 onwards.
• The mathematics surrounding the dates of the World Cup are contradictory; if 1994 was the 422nd, the tournament should have begun in 310 rather than 1473, as it is a proud boast of the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee that the competition has been held only every four years, not more or less, since 1473.
  • When taking the Tournament that Nobody Remembers into account, the first Quidditch World Cup should have been in either 309 or 313 depending on whether the 1877 and 1878 World Cups were counted separately or as one.
  • In chapter 3 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Molly Weasley mentions in her letter to Vernon and Petunia Dursley that "Britain hasn't hosted the Cup for thirty years"; thirty, however, is not a multiple of four, and so it could be assumed that she was simply rounding.
• The Quidditch World Cup seems to correspond to the Muggle Football World Cup, which takes place every four years, is hosted by a different nation at each occurrence, and has the best players from many countries participating in it. Furthermore, British nations frequently disappoint at this tournament, despite characteristic high hopes. It also takes place in the same year as its football counterpart.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Mentioned on poster in extra feature on Disc 2)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
• Quidditch Through the Ages
• Harry Potter Film Wizardry
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions

See also

• International Quidditch Tournament