IAAF World Cup in Athletics

The IAAF Continental Cup (formerly known as the IAAF World Cup, but also known as the Athletics World Cup) is an international athletics competition which comprises track and field events. It is the only world cup contested by teams representing entire continents, rather than just those of individual countries. The event takes place every four years.

The founder of the World Cup was the Italian IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo.

The previous format (known as the IAAF World Cup) included separate men's and women's competitions. Eight teams would take part in each event - five continental and three national. If the stadium had a ninth lane, the host nation could also enter a team. The winning men's and women's teams (and runners-up) from the preceding European Cup qualified as national teams for the World Cup, together with the United States. The continental teams comprised Africa, Asia, Oceania, the rest of America (North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association and Confederación Sudamericana de Atletismo), and the rest of Europe.

Beginning with the 2010 event in Split, Croatia, the format was changed and the competition renamed the IAAF Continental Cup. The number of regional teams was reduced to four: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe and the Americas, each represented by two athletes or one relay team in every event. National teams were eliminated from the competition. In addition, the separate men's and women's competitions were merged; the continental teams now compete for a single mixed championship.

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