On the evening of November 15th, the 2025 World Drone Football Championship grandly opened at the Shanghai Arena. From the 15th to the 18th, 46 elite teams from 18 countries and regions across four continents gathered in Shanghai to compete for the highest honor of "aerial football".
This is the world's first international A-class drone football tournament hosted by the International Air Sports Federation (FAI). On the road to accelerating the construction of a world-renowned sports city, Shanghai has opened a new page in "aerial sports".
As the twinkling stars interweave into a flowing technological picture, the mechanical buzzing unleashes the wisdom and vitality of a sports powerhouse. At the opening ceremony, a cool laser show instantly filled the technological atmosphere, followed by an indoor drone soccer performance that successfully opened the mysterious door of the first tournament through a spectacular red blue showdown.
This competition cleverly combines drone technology with traditional football. Participants control specially designed spherical drones in a closed low altitude environment to showcase the precise flight and coordination tactics of aerial models in real-time 5V5 or 3V3 team competitions, combining the competitive viewing of sports with innovative breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology.
The World Championships consist of two groups, F9A-A and F9A-B, attracting 46 strong teams from 18 countries and regions on four continents, including France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Türkiye and Australia. Among them, young flyers account for more than 70%. In the absence of a separate women's group, female flyers account for 16.9%. The host Chinese team will send four groups of elite soldiers to fight, and the Chinese Hong Kong team, the Chinese Macao team and the Chinese Taipei team will also appear.
