A $1million world cup: Is drone soccer the sport of the future, real-life Quidditch, or both?

There are already 2000 teams and there is going to be a "world cup" in 2025 – is drone soccer going to be the next major international sport? It is already popular in the USA and Korea, but other countries are aiming to establish themselves fast, including perennial soccer – or should that be football – hopefuls in England.

I met Peter Overton, director of Drone Sports Ltd, the UK-based company looking to secure representation in the upcoming event, at DroneX this week and he told me about the sport – and its connections with education.

"You need a lot of space" he admitted. There will the 30 teams selected for the world championship and we need to be together and selected by next September. He'll be facing tough competition though; he noted that 30,000 American students are involved at different levels, and it has STEM advantages already well recognised; the UK will be underdogs!

THIS IS AWESOME!! Drone Soccer by FIDA USA at CES 2024 - YouTube

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The FIDA – Federation International Drone Soccer – is the organisation Overton is aiming to set up a team with, though there do seem to be others out there. The investment is clearly significant too – as well as a presence at DroneX in London, FIDA themselves took enough space at CES Las Vegas at the beginning of the year for visitors to see a match, and definitely impressed.

The rules involve teams of 5 operating their drones. Overton said: "It's 5 aside, like quidditch, one goalkeeper, two defenders, one outfield player and a striker."

There are two referees, one on either side too, though the goal is a hoop supported in the air– making it more like the goals in the Harry Potter sport of Quidditch than the familiar goal shape from soccer or, should I say, football (since this is based on an interview conducted in the UK).

Drone soccer is not a game of two halves though, but three sets of three minutes – battery life (especially lifting the soccer-ball-shaped cages). That doesn't sound long to me but "It's a very fast game, very fast" he tells me. More so, even, than muggle quidditch, or Quadball, an actual on-the-ground contact sport for humans actually inspired by the Harry Potter books which has its own world cup!

Drone soccer might not hail from magical schools, but it has STEM potential. In the US participants get certificates they can show employers, and the game is also being promoted in France among disparate groups including children with education needs and, perhaps surprisingly, and old people's homes.

If you're hoping to gain the skills, you should check out the best beginner drones.