n a t i o n a l t e a m s a n d
t h e q u i d d i t c h w o r l d c u pNational teams are a point of pride for a country's witch and wizard population. Rather than being privately owned Quidditch clubs, the national teams are sponsored directly by their respective Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Games and Sports. (Some Ministries sponsor more than one national team as per their jurisdiction. For example, the British & Irish Ministry of Magic sponsors the national teams of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.)
National Team Selection is ongoing, but generally squads are confirmed by Christmas. International Quidditch Association National Team Selection Criteria dictates that players must:
- be born in, born to parents from, or be a citizen of the respective country; and
- must be over the age of seventeen, or require permission from a parent or suitable guardian.
There have been instances of extremely talented school-age Quidditch players being drafted, provided that their schools give permission and the student resides in the country of inquiry when not at school. School-age players require permission and chaperoning from a parent or suitable guardian at all times.
Some national teams participate in annual Continental Cups, such as the European Cup; however, the biggest dream of every national team is to win the Quidditch World Cup, also known as the World Cup or World Championship, held every four years (currently measured from 1878). The World Cup is held, organised, and officiated directly by the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee, and its final championship match is held in a different country every time it comes around.
Recent Winners:
Canada (1990) Ireland (1994) Malawi (1998) Egypt (2002)
The Quidditch World Cup schedule follows the same pattern each four-year period. Ministries can apply to host the next World Cup, and National teams can register their interest to compete. It is rare that any National team does not register, but there are circumstances that can prevent registration such as lack of funding, or (in the case of smaller countries especially) an incomplete team roster. At the time of application the National team must have a full roster -- this does not mean these players will definitely be in the team at the time of the next World Championship, but each National team must be complete to be able to enter the playoffs.
The qualifying format allows for four of the sixteen available positions to be filled by automatic qualification, as the four quarter finalists of the previous tournament enter its successor. The remaining twelve positions are filled by continental qualifying tournaments.
y e a r o f w o r l d c u p :August:
- The Quidditch World Cup takes place.
September:
- The IQA opens applications for Ministries to apply for the chance to host the next Quidditch World Cup. The application period is open for six months, closing at the end of the year.
- The IQA invites national teams to register for the following World Cup tournament. The application period is open for twelve months, closing a year to the day after the World Cup championship. The Quarter Finalists are automatically guaranteed a spot (should they wish to compete), so there are 12 remaining spots available. Quarter Finalist teams will still compete in Divisions despite having a guaranteed spot.
December:
- The IQA closes applications to host the next QWC.
y e a r f o l l o w i n g w o r l d c u p :August:- The IQA closes registrations for National teams and begins drafting schedules.
- The IQA announces the host for the next Quidditch World Cup. There is a chance the host nation will not make it to the final stages of the Championship.
December:
- The IQA will have divided up all the registered national teams into sixteen groups, so at the beginning of December they will release a list of Divisions as well as a play schedule for each Division.
t w o y e a r s p r e c e d i n g w o r l d c u p :- In the "group phase," every registered national team must play every other national team in their Division over the course of the next two years. The IQA provides the suggested play schedule, planning games throughout the following two years; individual teams can reschedule their games by mutual consent if alternative dates or locations must be utilised, or are more convenient. Group phase games may not overlap with other games however; for example, two teams that are in the same Division and participate in the same Continental Cup cannot use a Continental Cup match as their group phase face-off.
- Unlike League and playoff games, group phase games are capped at four hours long to prevent player exhaustion, meaning some games have no Snitch catches and "wins" are determined only by goals. The aim of the group phase is not to accrue scores, however, but rather Playoff Points. Any win in the group phase earns at least 2 Playoff Points, with the margin of winning providing additional points -- winning by more than 150 earns an additional 5 PPs (for a total of 7), winning by at least 100 earns an additional 3 PPs (for a total of 5), and winning by at least 50 earns an additional 1 PP (for a total of 3).
y e a r p r e c e d i n g w o r l d c u p :December:- After the group phase is complete, the teams with the highest Playoff Point score in their Division earn their place in the sixteen playoff spots for the World Cup. The IQA announces these teams at the beginning of December.
y e a r o f w o r l d c u p :July:- Finally, the World Cup playoffs begin. The First Round games are played throughout the first week of July.
August:- Quarter Finals are played during the second week of August. Semi Finals are played in the third week of August. The Final is played on the last weekend in August.
