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FIRA RoboWorld Cup and All of Its Leagues

FIRA stands for the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association, and its flagship event is the FIRA RoboWorld Cup. If RoboCup is "a research conference with an arena", FIRA is closer to "the robot Olympics": many sport-style disciplines, transparent scoring, and strong school-age brackets.

Why FIRA matters for school students: U12, U14 and U19 brackets are official in many of its leagues, so the path from a local class to an international field is much shorter. Novin Zehn teams have won most of their international medals in this family.

Three main branches

1. FIRA Sports

LeaguePersianIn one line
HuroCupهوروکاپHumanoid decathlon — one robot, ten disciplines
MiroSotمیروساتFast cube-robot football with an overhead camera
SimuroSotسیمروساتFully software-based football, no hardware
AndroSotآندروساتSmall humanoid football
RoboSotروبوساتAutonomous robots with onboard vision
NaroSotناروساتThe ultra-small version of robot football

2. FIRA Air

The aerial branch covers speed races and autonomous flight missions — gate runs, target identification and precision landing. One of FIRA's fastest-growing sections.

3. FIRA Challenge

This branch tests robots in applied roles: rescuer, servant, industrial assistant. Its best-known member for Iranian audiences is the Smart Home league, where the robot performs missions in a house-like arena.

HuroCup — the hardest exam a robot takes

HuroCup inverts the usual logic. Instead of building a robot for one task, a single robot must enter every discipline: sprint, marathon, weight lifting, basketball, obstacle run, penalty kick, archery and more. The All-Round title goes to the best overall performer, not to a single-event record holder. Full detail in the HuroCup article.

FIRA or RoboCup?

FIRARoboCup
FocusHumanoids and sport disciplinesSoccer, rescue, home, industrial
Age bracketsProminent (U12/U14/U19)Separate Junior branch
Barrier to entryModerateHigh in Major leagues
NatureScores and recordsResearch and algorithms

A fuller comparison lives in RoboCup vs FIRA.

How to get in

The usual path: compete at FIRA Iran → place or qualify → travel to the RoboWorld Cup. Because many FIRA leagues are age-bracketed, a 12-year-old can compete internationally in their first year — something effectively impossible in RoboCup Major leagues.

Frequently asked questions

Where is FIRA held each year?

The RoboWorld Cup host rotates; recent editions have been held in countries including Türkiye, Canada, China and Korea. Each country runs its own national stage.

Which FIRA league is best to start with?

For students, Smart Home and the age-bracketed SimuroSot classes are the easiest entry; HuroCup is the heaviest because it requires a humanoid robot.

What is Novin Zehn’s FIRA record?

Novin Zehn teams took twelve placements at FIRA Cup Iran 2026 and have previously won titles at FIRA events in Türkiye and Canada.

Want to compete in this league?

Novin Zehn competition teams train from zero to the world stage — in Tehran and live online.

Register / free consultation

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