Dear WMH member,
As you may or may not be aware, there has been a lot of communication regarding the format for the O80 Men’s National and IMC competitions at the 2026 WMH World Cup, being held in Breda, Netherlands, 6 - 16 August, 2026.
Despite WMH’s willingness to compromise and provide a variety of competition options, none was apparently acceptable to some of the teams/players concerned. This leaves WMH will no choice but to go back to one of our first compromise positions:
- National and IMC teams (currently four teams in each competition) will play four matches;
- These matches consist of three Round Robin matches and then Gold & Bronze medal matches (no semi-finals);
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Teams (National and IMC) will be allowed to request dispensations for up to two players who are either 78/79 years of age by 31 December, 2026, to allow every team to have a maximum of 18 players whether they have one or two goal keepers;
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The National competition will start on August 9 and the format will be: Game/Rest/Game/Rest/Game/Rest/Rest/Gold & Bronze matches (16 August);
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The IMC competition will start on August 9 and the format will be: Game/Rest/Game/Rest/Game/Rest/Gold & Bronze medal matches (15 August); and
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Stick, equipment and passport checks would be completed on the first day of the competition (9 August).
However, all players and support staff would of course be welcome to attend the Opening Ceremony on the evening of 6 August.
Please share this information with the O80 players and team officials as soon as possible. WMH needs to know, no later than 15 February 2026, which teams are interested in participating.
We look forward to hearing from you and welcoming the O80 teams to the first O80s Masters World Cup competition.
Regards,
Sue
