FIFA have revised the schedule for their FIFA Series 2026 tournament after adding a fourth women’s group and making adjustments to two of the men’s groups.
The competition, which builds on a successful pilot held in March 2024, will feature 50 national teams, both men’s and women’s, competing across 13 groups in 12 host nations drawn from all six continents. A total of 53 matches will be played, with the men’s fixtures taking place between 25 and 31 March and the women’s between 9 and 18 April.
The biggest change to the original schedule is the addition of a fourth women’s group, which will be hosted by Kenya. The Harambee Starlets will welcome Australia, India and Malawi to the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, with the group getting under way on 11 April and the final taking place four days later. The three other women’s groups remain as previously announced, hosted by Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire and Thailand.
On the men’s side, the schedules in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have been tweaked following the withdrawals of Kuwait and Oman. Azerbaijan will now face St Lucia and Sierra Leone, while Kazakhstan will host Comoros and Namibia in a three-team group. All other men’s fixtures remain unchanged.
FIFA say the series is designed to bring together teams of varying levels, from established sides to emerging nations, in line with their commitment to developing football across the globe. Five of the participating men’s teams have already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Australia, Cabo Verde, Curaçao, New Zealand and Uzbekistan. All matches will be broadcast to a worldwide audience.
