The world football governing body, FIFA, has confirmed that the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup will be held at the beginning of 2026 (January – February) and will be contested by 16 teams. The tournament will be held every four years and further details will be made available later.
The decision was part of the approval of the Women’s International Match Calendar 2026-2029, adopted by the FIFA Council which met ahead of the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok.
There are also ongoing talks about adding another FIFA Women’s tournament on non-FIFA Women’s Club World Cup years from the 2027.
Several other key decisions taken were the reduction of number of calendar dates from six to five in a year, this in order to allow for more rest and less travel.
“The Women’s International Match Calendar (WIMC) 2026-2029 is the result of a consultation process which has been underpinned by extensive research and analysis in coordination with the confederations and other stakeholders. Based on a player-centric approach, the WIMC 2026-2029 will provide more opportunities for rest and recovery for players throughout the calendar, with a reduction in the number of windows from six to five facilitating less disruption to domestic leagues and reduced travel,” said FIFA in a statement.
The Congress will also be voting for the hosts of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 with only two bids left – the joint bid by the Royal Belgian Football Association, the Royal Netherlands Football Association, and the German Football Association, as well as the single bid by the Brazilian Football Association.
The FIFA Council has also confirmed that the first edition of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025 will be held in the Philippines. Regarding the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which will take place in Morocco from 2025 – 2029, the slots have been confirmed with CAF and UEFA getting five each, AFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL with four each while OFC will have two spots – making it a pool of 24 nations.
Tournament updates:
The FIFA Council also confirmed the following tournament updates:
FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025™:
- The first edition of the event will take place in the Philippines.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ Morocco 2025-2029:
- The slot allocation will be as follows: AFC: 4; CAF: 5; Concacaf: 4; CONMEBOL: 4; OFC: 2; UEFA: 5.
FIFA U-17 World Cup™ Qatar 2025-2029:
- The slot allocation was confirmed as follows: AFC: 9; CAF: 10; Concacaf: 8; CONMEBOL: 7; OFC: 3; UEFA 11.
FIFA Arab Cup:
- At the request of the Qatar Football Association, Qatar will host the tournament in 2025, 2029 and 2033, which will follow the principle of an invitational competition not included in the International Match Calendar.
By Matlhomola Morake
