2000 World Cup Qualifying

Fourty teams were involved in qualification for the 2000 World Cup. No teams automatically qualified and it was the first World Cup that saw the new geographic qualification.

Africa-Asia
Two teams automatically qualified from Africa-Asia. The six teams were split into two pools. The winner of each pool qualified directly to the World Cup. Second place in each pool moved to the eliminator. The winner of the eliminator advanced to the Final Playoff.

Americas
The bottom four teams in the Americas played a single elimination bracket with the winner advancing to the pool stage with the top three teams. The top three teams from the pool stage advanced to the world cup.

Europe
The twenty-two teams were split into four brackets. Two had six teams and two had five teams. The top two teams in each bracket qualified for the world cup.

Oceania
Australia and New Zealand played a three game series to decided who was awarded the first spot in the World Cup. The loser would play in a single elimination bracket with Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga with the winner qualifying and the runner-up going to the Final Playoff.