ANNOUNCEMENT

March 3, 2026

The Irish Kennel Club would like to clarify how the Irish Qualifier for the FCI World Challenge is selected.

From 2007, Eukanuba used to sponsor their World Challenge, which was held originally in Orlando, USA, and then subsequently moved to Amsterdam, and finally to Crufts. During this time, Eukanuba generously sponsored the winner every year to go forward from each country involved. Originally the Irish representative was selected from the Finals of the Top Irish Show Dog Gala, however, this Irish Kennel Club event was subsequently shelved for a number of years and did not take place. In the interim, the representative was the Show Dog of the Year, based on Best In Show wins over the period of January to December. This Eukanuba Final ceased in 2019/2020.

In 2024, the FCI announced that they were going to hold a World Challenge and the first such event took place in Helsinki in August 2025, as part of the World Dog Show weekend. The Board of the Irish Kennel Club decided at their meeting on 2nd April 2025, that the criteria to be the Irish representative for this event would be “the Top Winning Irish Dog with the most Best in Shows for the year and domiciled in Ireland” and that the Irish Kennel Club would give a generous sponsorship to support their participation.

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