Belgium makes history as first European quadball world cup champion

Belgium ripped the quadball world title out of the old order on July 13, beating Germany 170-90 in Tubize and becoming the first European country to win the World Cup. The final was played in front of about 2,000 spectators, and it delivered the cleanest possible statement: the championship no longer belonged to one nation.

The International Quadball Association’s World Cup records show why that result landed as a turning point rather than a one-night upset. The United States had taken gold in 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2023, while Belgium had already climbed onto the podium with silver in 2018 and bronze in 2023. In one final, Belgium moved from challenger to champion and ended the American monopoly on the top step in the modern World Cup era.

That breakthrough came in a tournament built to feel bigger than anything before it. The IQA announced Brussels and Proximus Basecamp in Tubize as the 2025 host sites for July 11-13, and later described the event as the biggest World Cup in quadball history. Registration had reached 33 teams by April, the draw was set in three pools of five and four pools of four, and the final field ultimately included 31 national teams from regions as far apart as Latin America, Africa and Vietnam.

The scale mattered because it showed how far the sport had spread beyond its American roots. The IQA’s bid addendum said the event brought together more than 300 volunteers, more than 600 athletes and staff, and about 1,200 spectators in Tubize. That kind of footprint gave Belgium the kind of home-stage pressure and home-stage lift that can turn a contender into a title team, especially against Germany, which was making only its second finals appearance after losing to the United States in 2023.

Belgium’s climb also fits the country’s longer World Cup arc. Quadball adopted its current name in 2022, the World Cup has been held every other year since 2012, and Belgium had been edging toward this moment for years rather than stumbling into it. Seppe De Wit put the emotion of the day plainly, saying winning the trophy was one of the best days of his life. Finland, France, the United States and everyone else now have the same scoreboard truth to chase: quadball’s center of gravity has finally shifted.