February 27, (THEWILL) – Football’s governing body FIFA has announced the launch of a new international football series designed to provide a competitive experience for lower-ranked national teams that lack opportunities to play opponents from other confederations.
The FIFA Series will take place during the official international match calendar, with FIFA covering travel costs.
A pilot edition kicks off in March 2024 across four host countries – Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka. Each location will see four visiting national teams play two matches each in a round-robin format. With no trophies or prize money at stake, the focus is on the footballing benefit for countries that may never have qualified for or played at a World Cup finals tournament before.
The 2024 FIFA Series is viewed by organisers as a precursor to a larger global 2026 edition, which they hope will attract interest from higher-ranked teams to participate or even host. As FIFA facilitates but does not directly organise the tournament, individual member associations and their commercial partners are invited to sponsor and support the hosting of the FIFA Series locally.
Expansion plans for 2026 are built around the enlarged 48-team World Cup finals format coming that year to North America. “Many member associations could arrive in the US, Mexico or Canada with no international experience outside their continent,” said Kenny Jean-Marie, FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer. The FIFA Series aims to address that need.
Broadcast deals are in discussion for the 2024 pilot, with matches also set to be streamed on FIFA’s dedicated FIFA+ platform. With the Series not formally clashing with confederation competitions, FIFA anticipates no issues around scheduling and calendar congestion. The governing body hopes this tournament gives more opportunities for lower-profile national teams to benefit from playing internationally.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
