Fifa unveils new national teams tournament for 2026, Brazil among the hosts | OneFootball

Fifa launched the Fifa Series 2026 this Friday (21), a new national team tournament that will be held between March and April next year.

According to the football governing body, the goal is to increase the number of competitive international matches, especially for lesser-known teams.

For the first time, the competition will have both men's and women's editions.

The women's series will be hosted by Brazil, Thailand, and Ivory Coast.

Meanwhile, the men's series will have matches in Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, and Uzbekistan.

According to Fifa President Gianni Infantino, the initiative aims to “offer new opportunities to players, coaches, and fans, as well as promote the universality of football through competitive matches.”

He also stated that the 2026 edition “will further benefit national teams, strengthen the sport, and give visibility to local communities on the global stage.”

How it will work

The Fifa Series will pit teams from different confederations against each other in a friendly format, but with a competitive nature. The organization highlights that the tournament will not add extra games to the international calendar, it only reorganizes and qualifies the existing dates.

After the 2024 pilot project, Fifa decided to expand the format, including more countries, new venues, and, for the first time, the participation of women's teams. The positive results from last year drove the expansion of the initiative, which is expected to contribute to the technical development of world football.

More details will be released at the beginning of 2026.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 FABRICE COFFRINI - AFP or licensors