America. Tim Ingram: « The objective is to host the World Cup within the next three years.”
For this year’s festival, the Palm Springs Drone Fest once again hosted its traditional international Drone Soccer tournament © Palm Springs Drone Fest
From April 30 to May 2, the palm trees of the Palm Springs Drone Fest welcomed the Skyfence team led by Tim Ingram, president of FIDAUSA, for the International Drone Soccer Grand Championships. A major event on the FIDAUSA calendar, this tournament serves above all as the perfect international showcase for Tim and his teams to demonstrate American progress in Drone Soccer.
“What better way to introduce the world to Drone Soccer than at the biggest drone event in the U.S.?” said Tim Ingram, president of FIDAUSA, at the conclusion of this year’s International Drone Soccer Grand Championships. An event that has grown over the years, it now allows American teams to compete against international teams from the FIDA programme. This year, it was Jamaica, which recently became a “FIDA member,” that emerged victorious, living up to its ambition to become the team to beat on the American continent.
Having been incredibly dedicated to their development over the past several months, Jamaica has made its mark on the competitive scene by winning the Class 40 tournament © Irie FM
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Despite its lofty ambitions, FIDAUSA is still a very new member of the FIDA programme. After joining the Korean institution in 2023 and participating in the World Cup last September, Tim Ingram and his teams continue to strengthen the ties between FIDAUSA and school districts: “It’s still a bit new here in the U.S. But while we may not have the Koreans’ history, we have the ambition to train young people through an educational system that can only benefit the sport. Through our relationships with school districts, we hope to train and support young Drone Soccer talent throughout their entire academic journey, from middle school to college.”
A Vision for the Future
While the Class 40 remains a more complex, expensive, and challenging category to develop, Class 20 is, for Tim, the perfect balance between competitiveness, fun, and learning in schools:
“The key is the educational system. Without it, it immediately becomes much harder to set up clubs across the U.S. Every kid has held a controller in their hands. And as I often say, Drone Soccer is a video game in real life. But where video games don’t promise you a future other than staying with your mom until you’re 25, Drone Soccer lets you acquire skills,” the American remarks wryly. “There are a huge number of drone pilots here in the United States; it’s a massive industry. Whether it’s piloting, mechanics, or coding, Drone Soccer is the perfect opportunity for young people to discover the world of drones and turn it into a career.”
It was in 2023 that Tim Ingram introduced drone soccer to the United States
Could the World Cup in Palm Springs serve as a springboard?
Well known for their unconventional sports model, the United States seems to be the perfect setting to develop Drone Soccer on an international scale. For Tim Ingram, it is already a source of immense pride to see how far the sport has come in three years: “In Palm Springs, when I saw 11 matches being played simultaneously on that American football field, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is growing so fast.’ ” The American sports system is so massive and extraordinary that we can aspire to one day build a stadium dedicated to Drone Soccer. It will be expensive, require space, and take time to develop Class 40, but we’ll get there,” says Ingram cheerfully. But in the shorter term, FIDAUSA dreams of another event: hosting the FIDA World Cup in Palm Springs within the next three years. From his experience in hockey and soccer, Tim Ingram knows that an event of such global scale would resonate strongly in the United States and could serve as a real springboard for the sport in the country.
Regarding his relationship with FIDA and the organisation of this event, Ingram is optimistic: “The objective is to host the World Cup in Palm Springs within the next three years. Discussions with the Koreans are well underway, and this could transform the sport here. Hosting this competition as part of Drone Fest would be a dream come true. Being able to welcome around forty teams and experience a full week of festivities surrounding this World Cup, especially in the heart of the largest drone event in America, would be a turning point for FIDAUSA.”