World Lacrosse Championship

World Lacrosse Championship
Current season, competition or edition:; 2023 World Lacrosse Championship
Sport	Field lacrosse
Founded	1967
Countries	World Lacrosse member nations
Most recent; champion(s)	United States (10th title)
Most titles	United States (10 titles)
Official website	Official website

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

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 US 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.

The oldest world Lacrosse championship match was recorded on April 22, 1870, in Montreal. The Montreal Lacrosse club accepted a challenge vs the Caughnewagw Lacrosse team.

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 expanded 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	League	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	San Diego, California	TBD	TBD	TBD	30

Performance by team

Medal table

Performance by tournament

Team	Appearances	Highest Finish	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)
Argentina	3	28th											28th	36th	39th
Australia	13	2nd	2nd	4th	3rd	2nd	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	3rd	3rd	3rd	4th	4th	•
Austria	3	21st											21st	28th	24th
Belgium	2	27th												27th	30th
Bermuda	4	18th										21st	18th	24th	37th
Canada	13	1st	3rd	3rd	1st	3rd	2nd	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	•
China	2	33rd												33rd	42nd
Colombia	2	37th												37th	45th
Costa Rica	1	38th												38th
Croatia	1	43rd													43rd
Czech Republic	6	9th								9th	10th	15th	13th	14th	26th
Denmark	3	16th										16th	26th		34th
England	13	2nd	4th	2nd	4th	4th	4th	4th	4th	5th	6th	5th	5th	5th	5th	•
Finland	4	9th										9th	12th	13th	15th
France	3	27th											27th	31st	33rd
Germany	6	6th								6th	8th	8th	6th	9th	9th	•
Greece	1	19th													19th
Hong Kong	4	14th									14th	20th	22nd	21st	27th
Hungary	1	28th													28th
Ireland	5	7th									13th	7th	9th	10th	12th	•
Haudenosaunee	7	3rd						5th	5th	4th	4th	4th		3rd	3rd	•
Israel	2	7th												7th	7th	•
Italy	4	10th										10th	19th	18th	16th
Jamaica	1	13th													13th
Japan	7	4th							6th	8th	5th	6th	4th	8th	6th	•
Latvia	4	14th										14th	20th	19th	18th
Luxembourg	1	46th													46th
Mexico	3	23rd											29th	23rd	38th
Netherlands	4	8th										12th	8th	16th	22nd
New Zealand	5	12th									15th	19th	15th	12th	21st
Norway	3	17th											24th	25th	17th
Peru	1	39th													39th
Philippines	1	10th													10th
Poland	3	14th											14th	20th	32nd
Puerto Rico	1	8th													8th
Russia	2	32nd												32nd	36th
Scotland	6	6th								7th	7th	11th	7th	6th	11th	•
Slovakia	3	17th											17th	26th	23rd
South Korea	5	11th									11th	18th	25th	35th	35th
Spain	4	17th										17th	16th	30th	31st
Sweden	5	9th								10th	9th		10th	11th	25th
Switzerland	3	15th											23rd	15th	20th
Chinese Taipei	1	41st													41st
Thailand	1	29th												29th
Turkey	2	22nd												22nd	44th
Uganda	2	34th												34th	40th
United States	13	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	1st
Wales	6	11th								11th	12th	13th	11th	17th	14th

References

^ ^a ^b "Men's History and Results". World Lacrosse. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
^ "Iroquois Lacrosse Team Faces Hardships by Traveling on Their Own Passports". Cultural Survival. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
^ "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.
^ "Schedule Released for FIL World Championship". March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
^ "Record Field for 2014 FIL World Championship". March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
^ "Schreiber's controversial goal lifts U.S. over Canada in field worlds final | National Post". National Post. July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2019.

External links

[filhistory-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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v t e World Lacrosse
World championships	Men's Women's Men's U20 Women's U20 Box Sixes
Other international events	European Championships Ken Galluccio Cup Lacrosse at the Summer Olympics Lacrosse at the World Games
Governing bodies	African Association of Lacrosse Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union European Lacrosse Federation Pan-American Lacrosse Association List of national lacrosse governing bodies
Related categories Lacrosse by country Lacrosse players Lacrosse leagues International lacrosse competitions

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	10	3	0	13
2	Canada	3	6	4	13
3	Australia	0	3	7	10
4	England	0	1	0	1
5	Haudenosaunee	0	0	2	2
Totals (5 entries)		13	13	13	39