Each educational centre interested in participating must register by a computer application installed on the official Tournament portal. It will have to provide details on its activities related to chess.
If there are more than ten applications from a single country, the application will select the ten teams to participate based on the following criteria: five of them on the basis merit (sporting results of their players, introduction of chess into the curriculum or extra-curricular activity in the school, etc.). The other five teams will be selected by lot, with no criteria of merit used.
This system provides the opportunity for all the schools to take part, while also stimulating those who have incorporated chess into their activities, or want to increase its importance.
When a team classifies classifies for the on-site final, the country will pay the costs of the trip and stay for its teams in Dubai, as well as ensuring the visibility of their presence in the Expo.