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World Freshwater Angling Championships

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Walter Tamás – World Champion in 2004 and 2006

The World Freshwater Angling Championships is a freshwater angling competition. Participating countries fish in teams of five with titles awarded to the team with the fewest points, the competition area is split into sections and the winner with the most weight will be awarded one point, two for second, three for third, at the end of the two days the team with the least points is the top team. Since its inception in 1954, the competition has been staged on rivers, canals and still waters from a selected host nation. Currently (to 2025), the world championships have not been held outside of Europe.

The 72nd Coarse Angling World Championship for Nations was held on 5–6 September 2026 at the Sorraia River in Coruche, Portugal. England won the championship, with the Czech Republic finishing second and Hungary third. The individual world champion was José Alfonso Pardo García of Spain.

Brief history

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The inaugural world championship was held in West Germany in 1954 and won by team England,[1] with the first individual title going to Gino Vigarani of Italy.[2] In 1992, Dave Wesson, an Australian, became the only non-European to win the title.[3] The 2020 World Freshwater Angling Championships was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[4] but resumed in 2021.[5] The host nation have been team champions on 15 occasions, with the strongest nation at home being Italy who have won on their own waters 6 times, the others were Belgium 2, France, Luxembourg, Romania, East Germany, West Germany, England, Spain.[3] The host nation has produced a home grown individual world champion from just 9 events of the 67 fished (one in seven).[6]

Individual World Champions who have won the title on more than one occasion are Alan Scotthorne with 5 wins (1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007),[3][6] Bob Nudd with 4 wins (1990, 1991, 1994, 1999),[3][6] Robert Tesse [fr] 3 wins (1959, 1960, 1965),[3][6] and 2 wins each for Dino Bassi (1971, 1976);[3][6] Jean-Pierre Fougeat [fr] (1978, 1988),[3][6] Rudgher Kremkus (1980, 1983),[3][6] Walter Tamás (2004, 2006),[3][6] and most recently, Goran Radovic (2014, 2021).[7][5]

For a video history of this major angling event, see External links at the bottom of this page.

World Championship Nations Team results

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YearVenue and Host CountryNo. of nationsWorld ChampionsP/PtsRunners-upP/Pts3rd Place TeamP/PtsReference
1954West Germany Düsseldorf, West GermanyEngland England50Belgium Belgium70Italy Italy71[1][2]
1955England Reading, EnglandLuxembourg Luxembourg69Belgium Belgium71France France74[1][2]
1956France Paris, FranceFrance France39Belgium Belgium64Luxembourg Luxembourg71[1][2]
1957Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Belgrade, YugoslaviaItaly Italy23Luxembourg Luxembourg52France France54[1][2]
1958Belgium Huy, BelgiumBelgium Belgium29France France32Luxembourg Luxembourg86[1][2]
1959Switzerland Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandFrance France71Italy Italy103Switzerland Switzerland104[1][2]
1960Poland Gdańsk, PolandBelgium Belgium36France France61West Germany West Germany87[1][2]
1961East Germany Merseburg, East GermanyEast Germany East Germany44Belgium Belgium66England England70[1][2]
1962Italy Lake Garda, ItalyItaly Italy21France France27Belgium Belgium95[1]
1963Luxembourg Wormeldange, LuxembourgFrance France57Italy Italy77England England80[1]
1964Italy Isola dei Pescatori, ItalyFrance France6Italy Italy9Austria Austria20[1]
1965Romania Galați, RomaniaRomania Romania22Poland Poland27France France32[1]
1966England Martham, EnglandFrance France8Belgium Belgium15Italy Italy24[1][8]
1967Hungary Dunaújváros, HungaryBelgium Belgium12France France17England England25[1]
1968Republic of Ireland Fermoy, IrelandFrance France18West Germany West Germany24Romania Romania25[1]
1969West Germany Bad Oldesloe, West GermanyNetherlands Netherlands17Belgium Belgium19France France21[1]
1970Netherlands Berg, NetherlandsBelgium Belgium8Netherlands Netherlands14France France16[1]
1971Italy Peschiera del Garda, ItalyItaly Italy6