World Freshwater Angling Championships
Celebrating the greatest nations and anglers in international match fishing
1954 – 2026
England – World Champions 2026
River Sorraia • Coruche • Portugal • 5–6 September 2026
England are once again on top of the match fishing world after a superb performance in Portugal. Competing against 20 other nations over two days on the River Sorraia at Coruche, England finished with just 35 points and a total weight of 43.590 kg to become the 2026 World Team Champions.
England
Czechia
Hungary
2026 Individual World Championship
🥇 José Alfonso Pardo García – Spain
🥈 Ramon Ansing – Netherlands
🥉 Will Raison – England
About the World Championships
The World Freshwater Angling Championship is one of competitive angling’s most prestigious international events. First contested in 1954, it has brought together many of the finest match anglers and national teams in the world.
The championship is fished over two days, with the venue divided into sections. Anglers are ranked within their section according to the weight of fish caught, with the section winner receiving one point, second place two points, and so on. The national team accumulating the lowest overall points total is crowned World Team Champion.
Over more than seven decades the championship has been contested on rivers, canals and stillwaters, producing some of the greatest names and most memorable performances in the history of international match fishing.
A remarkable piece of history: England won the inaugural World Team Championship in 1954 — and 72 years later, England returned to the top of the podium as World Champions in 2026.
Wales on the World Stage
From a bronze medal on their first appearance in 1981 to becoming World Team Champions in 1989, Wales enjoyed one of the greatest periods in its international match fishing history.
1985 – Phill Davies
🥉 Individual World Championship Bronze Medal
1986 – Clive Branson
🥈 Individual World Championship Silver Medal
Clive finished runner-up in the World Championship, setting the stage for an even greater achievement twelve months later.
One year after winning silver in France, Clive went one better in Portugal and became World Freshwater Angling Champion, defeating some of the finest match anglers in the world.
1989 – Richard Bainton
🥉 Individual World Championship Bronze Medal
The 1989 Welsh World Championship Team
Top row, left to right:
Dicko North (Vice Captain), Richard Bainton, Colin Cook, Spud Murphy, Clive Branson and Phill Davies.
Bottom row, left to right:
Clive Roberts, John Mayer (Captain) and Eric Humpty.
Wales – World Team Champions, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 1989.
From Silver to Gold
“Finishing second in the World Championship in France in 1986 was a tremendous achievement, but twelve months later in Portugal I went one better and became World Champion. Two years after that, I had the privilege of being part of the Welsh team that became World Champions in Bulgaria.”
— Clive Branson
World Championship Roll of Honour
Team and Individual World Champions from the inaugural championship in 1954 through to England’s team victory in Portugal in 2026.
| Year | Venue | Team Champions | Individual Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Düsseldorf, West Germany | England | Gino Vigarani |
| 1955 | Reading, England | Luxembourg | M. Mailly |
| 1956 | Paris, France | France | F. Cerfontaine |
| 1957 | Belgrade, Yugoslavia | Italy | Giulio Mandelli |
| 1958 | Huy, Belgium | Belgium | J. Garroit |
| 1959 | Neuchâtel, Switzerland | France | Robert Tesse |
| 1960 | Gdańsk, Poland | Belgium | Robert Tesse |
| 1961 | Merseburg, East Germany | East Germany | R. Le Gouge |
| 1962 | Lake Garda, Italy | Italy | R. Tedesco |
| 1963 | Wormeldange, Luxembourg | France | Billy Lane |
| 1964 | Isola dei Pescatori, Italy | France | J. Fontanet |
| 1965 | Galați, Romania | Romania | Robert Tesse |
| 1966 | Martham, England | France | Henri Guiheneuf |
| 1967 | Dunaújváros, Hungary | Belgium | J. Isenbaert |
| 1968 | Fermoy, Ireland | France | G. Grebenstein |
| 1969 | Bad Oldesloe, West Germany | Netherlands | Robin Harris |
| 1970 | Berg, Netherlands | Belgium | M. Van Den Eynde |
| 1971 | Peschiera del Garda, Italy | Italy | Dino Bassi |
| 1972 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | France | R.J.E. Levels |
| 1973 | Chalon-sur-Saône, France | Belgium | P. Michiels |
| 1974 | Ghent, Belgium | France | A. Richter |
| 1975 | Bydgoszcz, Poland | France | Ian Heaps |
| 1976 | Varna, Bulgaria | Italy | Dino Bassi |
| 1977 | Ehnen, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | J. Mainil |
| 1978 | Vienna, Austria | France | Jean-Pierre Fougeat |
| 1979 | Zaragoza, Spain | France | G. Heulard |
| 1980 | Mannheim, West Germany | West Germany | R. Kremkus |
| 1981 | Luddington, England | France Wales 🥉 |
David Thomas |
| 1982 | Newry, Northern Ireland | Netherlands | Kevin Ashurst |
| 1983 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Belgium | R. Kremkus |
| 1984 | Yverdon, Switzerland | Luxembourg | Bobby Smithers |
| 1985 | Florence, Italy | England | David Roper Phill Davies (Wales) 🥉 |
| 1986 | Strasbourg, France | Italy | L. Wever Clive Branson (Wales) 🥈 |
| 1987 | Coimbra, Portugal | England | 🥇 Clive Branson (Wales) |
| 1988 | Damme, Belgium | England | Jean-Pierre Fougeat |
| 1989 | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | 🥇 WALES | Tom Pickering Richard Bainton (Wales) 🥉 |
| 1990 | Maribor, Yugoslavia | France | Bob Nudd |
| 1991 | Szeged, Hungary | England | Bob Nudd |
| 1992 | Enniskillen, Northern Ireland | Italy | Dave Wesson |
| 1993 | Coruche, Portugal | Italy | M. Barros |
| 1994 | Nottingham, England | England | Bob Nudd |
| 1995 | Lappeenranta, Finland | France | P. Jean |
| 1996 | Peschiera del Garda, Italy | Italy | Alan Scotthorne |
| 1997 | Velence, Hungary | Italy | Alan Scotthorne |
| 1998 | Zagreb, Croatia | England | Alan Scotthorne |
| 1999 | Toledo, Spain | Spain | Bob Nudd |
| 2000 | Florence, Italy | Italy | Jacopo Falsini |
| 2001 | Paris, France | England | Umberto Ballabeni |
| 2002 | Coimbra, Portugal | Spain | J. Rodriguez Blasco |
| 2003 | Madunice, Slovakia | Hungary | Alan Scotthorne |
| 2004 | Willebroek, Belgium | France | Walter Tamás |
| 2005 | Lappeenranta, Finland | England | Guido Nullens |
| 2006 | River Mondego, Portugal | England | Walter Tamás |
| 2007 | Lake Velence, Hungary | Italy | Alan Scotthorne |
| 2008 | Spinadesco Canal, Italy | England | Will Raison |
| 2009 | Lage Vaart Canal, Netherlands | Slovakia | Igor Potapov |
| 2010 | Ciudad Real, Spain | England | Frank Meis |
| 2011 | Ostellato, Italy | Italy | Andrea Fini |
| 2012 | Morava River, Czech Republic | Poland | Sean Ashby |
| 2013 | Żerański Canal, Warsaw, Poland | England | Didier Delannoy |
| 2014 | Dubrava Canal, Croatia | Netherlands | Goran Radovic |
| 2015 | Sava River, Slovenia | Italy | Yuri Siptsov |
| 2016 | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | Hungary | Jernej Ambrozic |
| 2017 | Ronquières, Belgium | Belgium | Luc Thijs |
| 2018 | Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal | Germany | Johannes Böhm |
| 2019 | Novi Sad, Serbia | France | Alan Perko |
| 2020 | Championship cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Peschiera del Garda, Italy | Italy | Goran Radovic |
| 2022 | Bilje, Croatia | Serbia | Mihael Pongrac |
| 2023 | Mequinenza-Fayón, Spain | Serbia | Esteve Martinez |
| 2024 | Béthune, France | Croatia | László Csillag |
| 2025 | Modrac Lake, Lukavac, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Italy | András Nagy |
| 2026 | River Sorraia, Coruche, Portugal | 🥇 ENGLAND | José Alfonso Pardo García (Spain) |
2020 was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Welsh medal performances are highlighted within the historical record.
The Greatest Individual World Champions
Across more than seven decades of World Championship history, only a small group of anglers have managed to win the individual title more than once.
Alan Scotthorne – England
5 World Titles
1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 2003 • 2007
Alan Scotthorne became the first angler to win five individual World Freshwater Angling Championships and remains the most successful individual champion in the competition’s history.
Bob Nudd – England
4 World Titles
1990 • 1991 • 1994 • 1999
Bob Nudd became the first angler to win the individual World Championship four times and dominated the international scene through much of the 1990s.
Robert Tesse – France
3 World Titles
1959 • 1960 • 1965
One of the first great names of World Championship angling, Robert Tesse won three individual titles during the formative years of the competition.
Two-Time World Champions
Dino Bassi – Italy
Jean-Pierre Fougeat – France
Rudgher Kremkus – West Germany
Walter Tamás – Hungary
Goran Radovic – Serbia
Most Successful Nations
The World Freshwater Angling Championship team medal table,
updated following England’s victory in Portugal in 2026.
Nations are ranked primarily by World Championship titles won.
France
England
Italy
| Rank | Nation | 🥇 Gold | 🥈 Silver | 🥉 Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 16 | 15 | 14 | 45 |
| =2 | England | 14 | 13 | 9 | 36 |
| =2 | Italy | 14 | 15 | 10 | 39 |
| 4 | Belgium | 7 | 11 | 9 | 27 |
| =5 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| =5 | Luxembourg | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| =5 | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| =8 | Hungary | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| =8 | Serbia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| =8 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| =11 | Wales | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| =11 | Poland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| =11 | Croatia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| =11 | Romania | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| =11 | East Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| =11 | Slovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Czechia | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| =18 | Portugal | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| =18 | Bulgaria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =18 | San Marino | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| =21 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| =21 | Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| =21 | Channel Islands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Wales in the Medal Table
Wales’ two team medals both came during that remarkable period of the 1980s —
bronze on their World Championship debut in 1981,
followed eight years later by
World Championship gold in Bulgaria in 1989.
Historical records sometimes classify Germany, West Germany and East Germany differently.
East Germany is shown separately where it appears as a distinct competing nation in the championship record.