Record medal haul for England at record-breaking Touch World Cup

England Touch enjoyed its most successful ever Touch World Cup campaign in Nottingham last week, winning medals in 10 out of the 13 categories contested.

The medal haul in this World Cup is more than that achieved in the previous nine editions combined, and was a dramatic increase in the two medals won in Malaysia in 2019.

England’s women led the way, with all four teams medalling. The Women’s 27 and 35 both took home silver, with the Women’s Open and 40 teams winning bronze. The two mixed gender teams, the Mixed Open and Mixed 30, also earned bronze medals, as did the Men’s 30, 40, 50 and 55.

The achievements of the Mixed and Women’s Open teams also represented the first time that England has won medals in the marquee categories at the highest international level.

England’s Men’s 35 finished fourth in their competition, with both the Men’s Open and Men’s 45 teams finishing fifth in theirs.

With 187 teams from 39 nations and around 4,000 participants, Touch World Cup 2024 was already setting records. This was backed up by the week itself – finals day alone had an estimated 10,000 people on the Highfields Sports Complex site, and across the week digital reach was well into six figures, with the live streaming of matches being watched in more than 50 nations.

England Touch Association Chair, Tim Loveridge, paid tribute to the efforts of all concerned, both on and off the field.

“I am delighted for all of the players, coaches and support staff within the High Performance programme for their achievements at Touch World Cup 2024,” he commented. “As a parent of players within the High Performance pathway I have seen first-hand all of the hard work that goes on, not just during an event but in the months and years of planning and training.

“To see this all come to fruition in Nottingham was fantastic. It was a significant step up in results from Malaysia and put us firmly in the top three behind just Australia and New Zealand.

“Having two of our Opens teams win medals in those categories is a bit step forward, but I would also like to highlight our Women’s 40 team, who became the first non-Australian women’s team to beat a New Zealand national team ever, when they won the second of their round-robin matches. To do so just two years after setting up that team is remarkable.

“Overall, everyone can be proud of their efforts, as every team improved on their result from 2019.”

Loveridge also praised England Touch CEO, Chris Simon, who as Event Director led a team in excess of 250 volunteers and staff to deliver Touch World Cup 2024.

“What Chris achieved is nothing short of remarkable,” Loveridge added. “We have a strong team ethic and collegiate approach, but that comes from the leadership, and we are very lucky to have had Chris at the helm of the planning and delivery of the World Cup.

“The feedback we have had from teams, visitors, VIPs, and the Federation of International Touch has been universally positive, and it was a privilege to both experience the event as a supporter as well as see how much hard work had gone in behind the scenes.

“From innovative power generation to reduce the carbon footprint, to ensuring that the same approach to fan and player experience was taken across both sites, and having the right people in the right places at the right times, I believe we have set a new standard, not just for Touch World Cups, but for mass sporting events as a whole.

“I could not be more pleased, and on behalf of the whole Touch community, a massive ‘thank you’ to Chris and the team.”