Uganda’s planned World Cup of Darts debut has been wiped out at the eleventh hour, with Gibraltar drafted into the 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts after visa problems prevented Patrick Ocheng and Juma Said from travelling to Germany.
The change lands on the day the tournament begins at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle, where 40 nations are due to compete from June 11-14 in one of the PDC calendar’s most distinctive events. For Uganda, this should have been a landmark week: a first appearance on the World Cup stage after coming through the African Darts Group route. Instead, the story has become a harsh reminder that global expansion in darts still comes with practical hurdles away from the oche.
Reports from DartsNews and Darts World state that Ocheng and Said were denied visas to enter Germany and that an appeal was unsuccessful. Malawi, next in line as runners-up, were also unable to take the place because of visa difficulties, leaving Gibraltar to receive the late call-up.
Gibraltar step into Group D at short notice
Gibraltar will now be represented by Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt, who slot into Group D alongside Republic of Ireland and Singapore. That immediately gives the section a different feel, with William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell already carrying plenty of interest for Irish fans and Singapore bringing the evergreen Paul Lim factor to the stage.
For Gibraltar, it is a sudden opportunity to make noise in a group that had originally been framed around Uganda’s historic arrival. The team will not have had the same build-up window as most of the field, but in a short-format pairs event that can sometimes matter less than settling quickly, holding throw, and finding a rhythm before the pressure bites.
The group phase remains unforgiving. According to PDC Europe’s tournament information, the 36 nations outside the top four seeds are split into 12 groups of three, with only each group winner progressing to the knockout rounds. Group-stage matches are best of seven legs, while the last 16 through to the semi-finals are best of 15 and the final is best of 19.
England and the seeded nations wait in the last 16
The top four seeded nations are England, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland, all of whom enter at the last-16 stage. That means Luke Littler and Luke Humphries avoid the group-stage churn for England, while Northern Ireland begin their title defence with Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney after last year’s dramatic win over Wales.
The wider event carries a record-looking profile for the team format: 40 nations, a £500,000 prize fund, and £100,000 for the champions. More importantly for fans, it remains one of the few elite PDC events where chemistry and communication are as important as individual scoring power. There are no singles matches to hide behind; every leg is doubles, every visit is shared pressure.
A cruel blow for Uganda’s darts breakthrough
The competitive reshuffle matters, but the human angle is hard to ignore. Uganda’s first World Cup appearance would have been a significant moment for African darts representation on the PDC stage. Ocheng and Said had earned the right to test themselves in Frankfurt, and losing that chance through travel paperwork rather than performance will sting.
For Gibraltar, the task now is to turn a late invitation into a proper campaign. For Uganda, the hope has to be that this is a postponement of their World Cup story rather than the end of it. The PDC has worked to broaden the event’s international reach; this week shows both why that ambition matters and why making it work smoothly is still part of the challenge.