2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | TBA |
| Dates | 5–30 January |
| Teams | 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 from 5 to 30 January 2028.[1] The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in early 2026 but was delayed by two years.
Background and format
FIFA initially announced plans to establish a global women's club competition in May 2021.[2] It would be structured similarly to the men's Club World Cup, which was 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.[3] The first edition of the quadrennial tournament was to be played in January and February 2026 and involve 16 teams.[4]
In March 2025, the FIFA Council moved the inaugural Women's Club World Cup to 2028 and expanded it to 19 teams. They also created a new annual Women's Champions Cup to begin in the January/February 2026 slot and take place in the three years between Club World Cups.[5][6] 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.[7]
Six clubs will participate in the play-in stage where they are paired up. Each pair plays a match and the three winners will advance to the group stage to join 13 other teams who qualify direct. In the group stage, the teams are put into four groups of four. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals.[6][8]
In January 2026, it was reported that Qatar was in talks to host the tournament.[9]
Slot allocation
The slot allocation for the inaugural edition will be as follows:[6]
| Confederation | Direct slots | Play-in slots |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | 2 | 1 |
| CAF | 2 | 1 |
| CONCACAF | 2 | 1 |
| CONMEBOL | 2 | 1 |
| OFC | 0 | 1 |
| UEFA | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 13 | 6 |
Qualified teams
FIFA are yet to announce the access list for the tournament.[9] It is expected that qualification will be based on the confederations' club championships and club coefficients.[10]
| Confederation | Team | Qualification | Qualified date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | Wuhan Jiangda | Winners of the 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League | TBA[note 1] |
| UEFA | Arsenal[11] | Winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League | TBA[note 1] |
| CONCACAF | Gotham FC[12] | Winners of the 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup | TBA[note 1] |
| CONMEBOL | Corinthians | Winners of the 2025 Copa Libertadores Femenina | TBA[note 1] |
| CAF | AS FAR | Winners of the 2025 CAF Women's Champions League | TBA[note 1] |
Reception
The Women's Super League have raised concerns about the decision to schedule the tournament in January. With one or more English teams expected to participate, fixtures for the 2027–28 season would have to be rescheduled to accommodate the FIFA tournament. Fixture rescheduling is already restricted as the season is bookended by the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics. The congested season also raises concerns over player welfare.[10]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e The teams' participation are not confirmed until the approval of the access list. However, the teams won the competitions (that will eventually qualify them for the Club World Cup) on the following dates: Wuhan Jiangda, Arsenal, and Gotham FC (24 May 2025), Corinthians (18 October 2025) and AS FAR (21 November 2025).
References
- ^ "FIFA Council approves record-breaking FIFA World Cup 2026 financial contribution". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ "A Women's Club World Cup "coming soon" says FIFA's Infantino". Reuters. 5 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "First Women's Club World Cup to take place in 2026". BBC Sport. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "Inaugural Women's Club World Cup to be held from Jan-Feb 2026, FIFA says". Reuters. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Kassouf, Jeff; Foster, Matt (5 March 2025). "FIFA Women's Club World Cup delayed to 2028; new Champions Cup launched". ESPN. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ a b c "FIFA Council approves unprecedented prize money pot for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and takes key decisions on women's competitions". FIFA.com (Press release). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 March 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ Linehan, Meg; Slater, Matt (5 March 2025). "FIFA Women's Club World Cup delay and new Champions Cup explained". The Athletic. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ "Timelines and formats of landmark FIFA women's club competitions confirmed". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ a b Hughes, Matt (12 January 2026). "Qatar in talks with Fifa to host first Women's Club World Cup in January 2028". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b Smith, Emma; Currie, Jo (21 January 2026). "Women's Club World Cup: WSL against potentially 'catastrophic' new competition's schedule". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ^ Wright, Stephen (23 July 2025). "Arsenal to play in 2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup". Arsenal Football Club. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
- ^ "Gotham FC wins inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup". CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.