The second «FIFA Series», sponsored biennial tournaments for mainly lower-ranked and less-funded countries, will expand in 2026 and launch a new women’s edition, the global governing body said on Friday.
While some matches in the first 24-nation series in 2024 were sparsely attended, others attracted strong fan interest, with more than 85,000 in attendance for Egypt’s tournament final against Croatia in Cairo, which lost 4-2.
Host countries for the 2026 larger men’s series will be Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Rwanda and Uzbekistan, FIFA said, with the final line-up of participants due to be announced early this year.
The women’s series debuts in Brazil, Ivory Coast and Thailand.
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The aim is to benefit national teams that do not have opportunities to play against teams from other continents, with FIFA contributing to travel costs, accommodation and other logistics.
“The FIFA Series is about unlocking the development potential for players, coaches and fans, while promoting the universality and diversity of football through meaningful matches,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
Football Australia interim CEO Heather Garriock welcomed the plans for next year’s series. “These matches will play a vital role in the CommBank Socceroos’ preparation for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, while strengthening our international competitiveness as a whole,” she said.
Illustrating the divergent interest in the series, in Sri Lanka in 2024, only 550 people turned up to watch the Central African Republic beat Papua New Guinea 4-0.
Published on November 21, 2025
