The event was branded a failure by sports journalists, with many big-name star athletes failing to take part.

[1] Each nation entered one male and one female athlete in every event in a straight final format.

For its inaugural event, all nations' captains were female in celebration of 100 years since women were given the right to vote in the United Kingdom.

Traditional distance-running powers, Kenya and Ethiopia, were ranked among the first eight nations in the placing table overall at the 2017 Championships, but were not invited as they finished outside the top eight when considering only World Cup events.

[3] On 20 June 2018, Sky Sports were announced as the host broadcaster within the UK and Ireland.