Uganda’s historic World Cup of Darts debut has been taken away at the last possible moment, with Gibraltar handed a late place in Frankfurt after visa issues forced Patrick Ocheng and Juma Said out of the tournament.
The change was confirmed before the 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts begins at the Eissporthalle on Thursday, June 11. Uganda had earned a first appearance on the PDC World Cup stage through the African Darts Group qualifier, a breakthrough that should have put Ocheng and Said into Group D against the Republic of Ireland and Singapore.
Instead, the pair will miss the event after being denied visas for Germany. According to the reporting around the change, an appeal was unsuccessful, leaving the PDC to reshape the field just before the opening night of group-stage action.
Uganda lose landmark first appearance
For a tournament built partly on global representation, this is a brutal sporting footnote. Uganda were not being spoken about as title contenders, but that was never really the point. Their qualification mattered because it widened the World Cup story beyond the familiar heavyweight nations and gave two players a chance to carry a new flag into one of the PDC calendar’s most distinctive events.
Ocheng and Said had done the hard part on the oche. Missing out because of paperwork rather than performance will sting, particularly with the tournament so close and the draw already framed around Uganda’s arrival. Malawi, the runner-up from the qualifying route, were next in line but also could not secure the required visa in time.
That left Gibraltar as the available replacement, keeping the field at 40 nations for the four-day event in Frankfurt.
Gibraltar step into Group D
Gibraltar will be represented by Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt, who now join Group D alongside the Republic of Ireland and Singapore. It is a sudden opportunity for a nation with established World Cup history, and it changes the texture of a group that had been set to feature Uganda’s debut.
The World Cup’s all-doubles format can be awkward, volatile and wonderfully unforgiving. Group-stage matches are short enough for rhythm to matter immediately, and late changes can have a bigger effect than they might in a longer singles format. Gibraltar at least know the landscape of the event, but being called in this close to the start brings its own challenge.
The Republic of Ireland pairing of William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell will still be expected to carry strong hopes in the group, while Singapore’s Paul Lim and Phuay Wei Tan bring one of the more recognisable stories in the lower half of the draw. Gibraltar now have to turn a reprieve into a performance.
World Cup field changes on eve of opener
The 2026 World Cup runs from June 11-14, with 40 nations competing for a total prize fund of £500,000. The top four seeded nations enter directly at the last-16 stage, while the rest must come through the group phase. That gives every group-stage place real value, even for nations unlikely to dominate the outright betting.
For Uganda, the disappointment is obvious. Their first World Cup appearance had the makings of a genuine milestone for African darts, and the hope now has to be that qualification does not become a one-off story lost to circumstances outside the players’ control.
For Gibraltar, the task is immediate: arrive, settle, and make the most of a door that has opened barely before the tournament begins.
Related reading: Nine Dart News has more background on the World Cup of Darts 2026 draw and schedule, plus our look at England’s World Cup pairing with Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.
Sources: This article is based on the official PDC report on Gibraltar replacing Uganda, the PDC Europe World Cup of Darts tournament guide, and the DartsNews report on Uganda and Gibraltar.