Abstract: With a focus on sports culture, we define World Sports Cities and establish an intercity connection framework involving multiple actors. Based on the global distribution data of international sports federations and international sports events from 2008 to 2022 (spanning four Olympic periods), we construct a world city network from the sports dimension, as well as explore the hierarchical structure and evolution trend of World Sports Cities. Research suggests that: 1) A five-tier structure of world sports cities has formed, which includes global central cities, specialized central cities, regional central cities, national central cities, and specialized cities; 2) the hierarchical structure of world sports cities exhibits “hierarchical differences in instability”, where higher-level city connections and nodes maintain relative stability, while lower-level connections and nodes show greater variability; 3) within the city networks, different actors have varying impacts on shaping world sports cities at different levels. The elevation of a specific city’s status typically follows a trajectory of hosting high-level international sports events such as hosting Olympic Games, promoting the country’s dominant sports to be included as Olympic disciplines, and this process involves the participation of multiple actors. This study establishes a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing world sports cities in the space of flows era, and put forward policy suggestions for the planning of sports event and construction of sports cities in China.