The original format included separate men's and women's competitions consisting of 21 events each, with team points being awarded for the finishing position of each athlete.
The eight entrants included the United States, the top two nations in the preceding European Cup and continental teams comprising Africa, Asia, Oceania, the rest of the Americas (North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association and Confederación Sudamericana de Atletismo), and the rest of Europe.
The IAAF competition was briefly rebranded as the World Athletics Continental Cup in 2019, but the event was scrapped in March 2020.
[4][5][6] Key to tables: not ratified or later rescinded by IAAF A silver trophy was presented to winners of the men's competition.
[25] As the IAAF Continental Cup, in 2018, a new trophy was unveiled for the winners of the combined team event (men and women).