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A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities - usually national teams or individuals representing their nation - compete for the title of world champion. A world cup is generally considered the premier competition in its sport, with the victor attaining the highest honour in that sport and able to lay claim to the title of their sport's best. However, in some sports the Olympic title carries at least as much prestige.
Some sport governing bodies prefer the title world championship or a related term; some even organise both a world cup and a world championship with different rules. Usually, such competitions take one of two forms, a short periodic competition or a year-long series of meetings.
In the 1930s, the now-defunct World Newspaper of Vancouver sponsored the annual home and home rugby union series between the University of California Berkeley and the University of British Columbia with the winner receiving the "World Cup." Though the sponsor newspaper no longer exists, the teams still compete for the World Cup each Spring.