Twelve wheelchair rugby teams battle for glory at World Championship in Sao Paulo
The 2026 WWR World Championship takes place in South America for the first time, featuring 12 of the world's best teams 17 Aug 2026
Twelve of the world's best wheelchair rugby teams are competing for glory at the 2026 WWR World Championship, which got underway in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 17 August 2026.
Held in South America for the first time, the World Championship features 12 teams from across the globe and will include 47 matches, with the medal matches taking place on 23 August. Defending champions Australia opened their campaign with a 50-41 win over Canada in the first match on 17 August, before Brazil opened their campaign in front of a passionate home crowd.
The tournament features Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the USA.
Gunning for gold
Ahead of the first day of competition, Team USA co-captain Chuck Aoki joined the @Paralympics for an Instagram Live on 15 August to celebrate the two-year countdown to the LA28 Paralympic Games.
"We're out here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the beautiful Paralympic Training Center, that's a really amazing venue," the four-time Paralympic medallist said. "It's the top 12 teams in the world, so it's actually the biggest wheelchair rugby tournament we have. The Paralympics are a little bit smaller with eight teams.
"So it's pretty brutal grind to try to bring home a World Championship. We're super excited to be down here."
Aoki is making his fifth World Championship appearance for Team USA, which finished runner-up at the previous World Championship in 2022 and earned a silver medal at Paris 2024.
"The World Championship is the second biggest event after the Paralympics. In some ways, it is a harder event to win because it's so much longer and so much physical," he said.
"Every team wants to come out and win. Every team wants to prove that they are the best in the world. We haven't won a World Championship since 2010, so it's been a while.
"There is a lot of pride on the line for a lot of countries, to come out and really perform well."
Follow the action
Aoki, who has competed at four Paralympics since making his debut at London 2012, says wheelchair rugby has grown significantly in recent years. "We've really seen the global growth. It makes our job a little bit harder, of course, but it certainly is great for the sport as a whole."
The USA will face the Netherlands in their first match on 18 August, before taking on Canada and Brazil in the pool stage. The Netherlands are making their first World Championship appearance in 20 years.
The USA will be joined by fellow Paris 2024 Paralympic medallists, Japan and Australia. Bronze medallists Australia will aim to retain the world title they won in Vejle, Denmark, in 2022. Ryley Batt will return to the World Championships after taking nearly a year away from competition following Paris 2024 because of injuries.
Australia have reached the final of every World Championship since 2010, including title-winning campaigns in 2014 and 2022, and will be among the teams to watch in Sao Paulo.
Paris 2024 gold medallists Japan are aiming for their first world title since 2018 after earning the bronze medal in 2022.
Host nation Brazil is competing at a World Championship for only the second time after making their debut in 2022. The team finished 11th in Denmark in 2022, and will hope home support can help inspire a strong showing in Sao Paulo.
Discover more about wheelchair rugby
Please visit the World Wheelchair Rugby website for more information about the World Championship
