World Lacrosse Championship

The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years.

World Lacrosse Championship
SportField lacrosse
Founded1967
CountriesWorld Lacrosse member nations
Most recent
champion(s)
 United States (10th title)
Most titles United States (10 titles)
Official websiteOfficial website
2023 World Lacrosse Championship

The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as a four-team invitational tournament which coincided with Canada's centennial lacrosse celebration in 1967. Canada, the United States, Australia, and England participated. Seven years later, Australia celebrated its lacrosse centenary and another four-team invitational tournament was held between the same countries. After that tournament in 1974, the first international governing body for men's lacrosse was formed, the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF). The ILF merged with the women's governing body in 2008 to form the Federation of International Lacrosse, which changed its name to World Lacrosse in 2019.[1]

The USA has won the championship ten times and Canada the other three.[1] With 46 nations competing, the 2018 WLC in Israel was the largest tournament and was the first championship held outside of Australia, Canada, England or the United States.

Editions

2006 Championship

Canada defeated the United States 15–10 in the Gold medal game of the 2006 World Championship in London, Ontario. Geoff Snider of Team Canada was named tournament MVP.

2010 Championship

The 2010 WLC was held in Manchester, England from July 15 to 24. For the first time, a World Lacrosse Festival was sanctioned to run alongside the world championships.

With more nations entering, the Round Robin stage of the tournament featured 30 nations and was split into 7 divisions, considerably larger than ever before. The Iroquois Nationals were unable to participate because the host nation did not recognize the validity of passports issued by the Iroquois confederacy.[2]

The United States defeated Canada 12–10 in the Gold medal game to capture their ninth victory at the World Lacrosse Championship.[3]

2014 Championship

The 2014 WLC was held on July 10–19, 2014 in Commerce City, Colorado, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids soccer team.[4] 38 nations participated in over 142 games. The countries with the top six rankings - Australia, Canada, England, Iroquois, Japan, and the United States - competed in the Blue Division.

Belgium, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Israel, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, and Uganda all competed in the event for the first time.[5]

Canada defeated the United States 8–5 in the Gold medal game to capture their third World Lacrosse Championship.

2018 Championship

The 2018 WLC was held on July 11–21, 2018 in Netanya, Israel, at Netanya Stadium and Wingate Institute. 46 nations participated in tournament games. The countries with the top six rankings - Australia, Canada, England, Iroquois, Scotland, and the United States - competed in the Blue Division.

United States defeated Canada in the Gold medal game, dramatically scoring the controversial game-winning goal at the last second.[6]

Championship hosts

Hosting responsibilities for the 12 championships from 1967 to 2014 were evenly divided between four countries, with the United States, Canada, Australia, and England each hosting three times.

The 2018 championship in Israel was the first time the tournament expands beyond the traditional four hosts. For the 2018 edition, World Lacrosse had originally selected England in 2013, but English Lacrosse withdrew in 2017, citing “unacceptable financial risk”, and Israel was selected instead.

Winners

Year Host Champion Score Runner-up Number of teams
1967
Toronto, Ontario

United States
League
Australia
4
1974
Melbourne, Australia

United States

England
4
1978
Stockport, England

Canada
17–16 (OT)
United States
4
1982
Baltimore, Maryland

United States
22–14
Australia
4
1986
Toronto, Ontario

United States
18–9
Canada
4
1990
Perth, Australia

United States
19–15
Canada
5
1994
Bury, England

United States
21–7
Australia
6
1998
Baltimore, Maryland

United States
15–14 (OT)
Canada
11
2002
Perth, Australia

United States
18–15
Canada
16
2006
London, Ontario

Canada
15–10
United States
21
2010
Manchester, England

United States
12–10
Canada
29
2014
Denver, Colorado

Canada
8–5
United States
38
2018
Netanya, Israel

United States
9–8
Canada
46
2023
California
TBD TBD TBD 30

Performance by team

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States103013
2 Canada36413
3 Australia03710
4 England0101
5 Iroquois0022
Totals (5 nations)13131339

Performance by tournament

Team 1967

(4)
1974

(4)
1978

(4)
1982

(4)
1986

(4)
1990

(5)
1994

(6)
1998

(11)
2002

(15)
2006

(21)
2010

(29)
2014

(38)
2018

(46)
2023

(30)
 Argentina28th36th39th
 Australia2nd4th3rd2nd3rd3rd2nd3rd3rd3rd3rd4th4th
 Austria21st28th24th
 Belgium27th30th
 Bermuda21st18th24th37th
 Canada3rd3rd1st3rd2nd2nd3rd2nd2nd1st2nd1st2nd
 China33rd42nd
 Colombia37th45th
 Costa Rica38th
 Croatia43rd
 Czech Republic9th10th15th13th14th26th
 Denmark16th26th34th
 England4th2nd4th4th4th4th4th5th6th5th5th5th5th
 Finland9th12th13th15th
 France27th31st33rd
 Germany6th8th8th6th9th9th
 Greece19th
 Hong Kong14th20th22nd21st27th
 Hungary28th
 Ireland13th7th9th10th12th
 Iroquois5th5th4th4th4th3rd3rd
 Israel7th7th
 Italy10th19th18th16th
 Jamaica13th
 Japan6th8th5th6th4th8th6th
 Latvia14th20th19th18th
 Luxembourg46th
 Mexico29th23rd38th
 Netherlands12th8th16th22nd
 New Zealand15th19th15th12th21st
 Norway24th25th17th
 Peru39th
 Philippines10th
 Poland14th20th32nd
 Puerto Rico8th
 Russia32nd36th
 Scotland7th7th11th7th6th11th
 Slovakia17th26th23rd
 South Korea11th18th25th35th35th
 Spain17th16th30th31st
 Sweden10th9th10th11th25th
  Switzerland23rd15th20th
 Taiwan41st
 Thailand29th
 Turkey22nd44th
 Uganda34th40th
 United States1st1st2nd1st1st1st1st1st1st2nd1st2nd1st
 Wales11th12th13th11th17th14th

See also

References

  1. "Men's History and Results". World Lacrosse. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  2. "Iroquois Lacrosse Team Faces Hardships by Traveling on Their Own Passports". Cultural Survival. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  3. "FIL World Championships: USA Takes Gold With 12-10 Win Over Canada". Inside Lacrosse. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  4. "Schedule Released for FIL World Championship". March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  5. "Record Field for 2014 FIL World Championship". March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  6. "Schreiber's controversial goal lifts U.S. over Canada in field worlds final | National Post". National Post. July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
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