2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup

Last updated

FIFA Women's Club World Cup
Tournament details
Host countryTBA
DatesJanuary–February 2028
TeamsCompetition proper: 16
Total: 19 (from 6 confederations)
2032

The 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup is the planned inaugural edition of the FIFA Women's Club World Cup, an international club association football competition organized by FIFA. It will be contested by 19 women's club teams in January and February 2028. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in early 2026 but was delayed by two years.

Contents

Background and format

FIFA initially announced plans to establish a global women's club competition in May 2021. [1] It would be structured similarly to the men's Club World Cup, which is scheduled to become a quadrennial tournament beginning with the 2025 edition. The FIFA Council approved the updated women's football calendar at the 74th FIFA Congress held in Bangkok in May 2024, which included the inaugural Women's Club World Cup in early 2026. [2] The first edition of the quadrennial tournament was to be played in January and February 2026 and involve 16 teams. [3]

In March 2025, the FIFA Council moved the inaugural Women's Club World Cup to 2028 and created a new annual Women's Champions Cup to begin in the January/February 2026 slot. The Women's Club World Cup was expanded to 19 teams with qualification determined by the Women's Champions Cup, which would take place in the three years between World Cups. [4] [5] The two-year delay followed a lack of progress in announced plans for the inaugural tournament, which had yet to have a host, sponsors, or television broadcasters announced. [6]

Six clubs are planned to participate in the play-in phase, with the three winners joining 13 other clubs in the next stage, which will consist of four groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage. [5]

Slot allocation

World location map (equirectangular 180).svg
Location of the non-UEFA teams participating in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

The slot allocation for the inaugural edition will be as follows: [5]

ConfederationDirect slotsPlay-in slotNotes
AFC 21
CAF 21
CONCACAF 21
CONMEBOL 21
OFC 01
UEFA 51
Total136

Qualified teams

Group stage direct entrants
ConfederationTeam(s)QualificationQualified date(s)
AFC (2 slots) Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wuhan Jiangda [7] [ failed verification ]Winners of the 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League May 24, 2025
TBD
CAF (2 slots)TBD
TBD
CONCACAF (2 slots) Flag of the United States.svg Gotham FC [8] Winners of the 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup May 24, 2025
Winners of the 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup [9] May 23, 2026
CONMEBOL (2 slots)TBD
TBD
UEFA (5 slots) Flag of England.svg Arsenal [7] Winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League May 24, 2025
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Play-in stage participants
ConfederationTeam(s)QualificationQualified date(s)
AFC (1 slot)
CAF (1 slot)
CONCACAF (1 slot)
CONMEBOL (1 slot)
OFC (1 slot)
UEFA (1 slot)


References

  1. "A Women's Club World Cup "coming soon" says FIFA's Infantino". Reuters. May 5, 2021. Archived from the original on October 3, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. "First Women's Club World Cup to take place in 2026". BBC Sport. May 15, 2024. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  3. "Inaugural Women's Club World Cup to be held from Jan-Feb 2026, FIFA says". Reuters. May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  4. Kassouf, Jeff; Foster, Matt (March 5, 2025). "FIFA Women's Club World Cup delayed to 2028; new Champions Cup launched". ESPN . Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "FIFA Council approves unprecedented prize money pot for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and takes key decisions on women's competitions" (Press release). FIFA. March 5, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  6. Linehan, Meg; Slater, Matt (March 5, 2025). "FIFA Women's Club World Cup delay and new Champions Cup explained" . The Athletic . Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Wright, Stephen (July 23, 2025). "Arsenal to play in 2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup". Arsenal. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  8. "Gotham FC wins inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup". Concacaf. May 25, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  9. "Concacaf confirms key details for 2025/26 W Champions Cup". CONCACAF. May 12, 2025.