ISTANBUL (May 10) – The Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling World Cup draws were announced this week at the United World Wrestling Bureau meeting in Istanbul.

The World Cup is an annual competition featuring the top eight ranked nations from the previous year’s world championships. The competition is separated into two groups each comprised of four nations. 

The Greco-Roman World Cup will feature Russia, Belarus, Germany and Kazakhstan in Group A, while Group B has Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine and host Iran.

The Freestyle World Cup will feature Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Mongolia in Group A, with Iran, Azerbaijan, and India joining hosts United States in Group B.

The Greco-Roman World Cup will be competed May 19 and 20 in Shiraz, Iran and hosted by the Iran Wrestling Federation.

USA Wrestling will host the Men’s Freestyle World Cup be June 11 and 12 at The Forum in Los Angeles.

This year will be the third in a row that Iran and the United States have hosted the Greco-Roman and freestyle World events, respectively. Azerbaijan is the defending Greco-Roman World Cup champion, having won their first–ever title last year in Tehran.

Iran is the defending Freestyle World Cup champions having bested the United States in last year’s gold medal final.