Drone Soccer World Cup 2025: 265 teams compete in South Korea in global tech playground

South Korea will host the 2025 Drone Soccer World Cup, a unique technological sporting event that will bring together more than 2,500 athletes and 265 teams from 33 countries and territories. This is the first time the sport has been held on a global scale, marking a major turning point in the popularization of drone soccer in the world.

A Drone Soccer Match at CES 2024. (Source: FIDA)

Drone soccer is a combination of drone piloting skills, team tactics and speed. Drones are controlled to fly through the goal circle, while colliding with each other at speeds of up to 160 km/h.

The competition rules in the tournament are as follows:

The competition will use 20cm drone rugby balls and controllers provided by the organizers, so teams do not need to prepare their own.
Each team consists of 5 players, which can be divided into teams by age group and gender. Each player controls a drone rugby ball.
Both teams control their drone rugby balls using radio remote controls to quickly fly and move around the field, aiming to score goals by passing through the opponent's circular goalposts. Players attack and defend each other within a limited time limit, and the team that scores more goals wins.
During the competition, players must comply with the rules of the game and must not use illegal means to interfere with the game. If any individual is found to be interfering with the game, that team's performance will be disqualified.

Drone Football Team Hong Kong (China) participating in the 2025 World Cup. (Source: SCMP)

Many teams have been actively preparing for this event. The Hong Kong (China) team, consisting of eight members, aged 8 to 23, will represent the city in the competition in Korea. Captain Chris Wu Shang-dong, 16, shared that the age diversity and tactical nature of drone soccer made him love this sport: “It’s like chess, but requires teamwork.”

Singapore will send two teams, one from Class 20 and one from Class 40, to the tournament. The players will be selected through a series of national tournaments from July 2024 to June 2025, including events such as the Drone Odyssey, Singapore Drone Soccer Championships, and the Inter School Championship. The teams will be coached by FIDA-certified coaches.

Close-up of the controller and "players" of the Drone Soccer playground. (Source: Uav-crafts)

Within the framework of the FIDA World Cup Jeonju 2025 international drone soccer tournament, the organizing committee has issued a set of detailed technical regulations to ensure fairness, safety and professionalism for the competition. These regulations apply to three main categories: Class 20, Class 40, and Cracing (Drone Racing).

In the Class 20 category, teams must use Skykick series balls weighing no more than 110g. Tape repairs are allowed with the referee's approval. The ball must have a red or blue LED for team identification and must not be painted.

For Class 40, drone balls must be fitted with FIDA-compliant Pentaguards, with no external structures required. Batteries are limited to four cells, and team identification LEDs must be at least 20 cm in diameter. FIDA tags are required for scoring positions.

In Cracing, the drone ball must not exceed 1,150g (including analog video equipment). The control device must operate on the 2.4 GHz frequency, and only use RHCP or LHCP antennas. Devices using other frequencies such as 900 MHz or 800 MHz are prohibited.

The atmosphere was vibrant at the Drone Soccer tournament, where teams competed using modern flying technology in front of thousands of spectators. (Source: FIDA)

With a strict technical regulation system, the FIDA World Cup is not only a high-tech sports playground but also a symbol of professionalism and transparency in international competition.

The tournament will take place from September 25 to September 27, 2025, organized by the International Drone Soccer Federation (FIDA). This is the first time FIDA has organized a World Cup, promising to bring a top playground for drone soccer teams around the world .

Mr. Quang

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/drone-soccer-world-cup-2025-cuoc-tranh-tai-cong-nghe-tren-bau-troi-han-quoc-ar966547.html