FIFA SERIES EXPLAINED: What to know of the New World Football Tournament
The global governing body of football has announced the launch of a new friendly competition.
The FIFA Series, first proposed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in December 2022, will run from March 18 to March 26 this year.
Moving forward, it will be a biennial event held in March of years ending in an even number.
What the FIFA Series entails
In short, 20 national teams from all six confederations—UEFA (Europe), CONMEBOL (South America), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), and OFC (Oceania)—have agreed to play a series of friendly matches against one another.
“This is a great opportunity to enable member associations that do not have regular opportunities to play against teams from other confederations,” explains Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA’s director of European member associations.
The host countries are Algeria, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, and Saudi Arabia, with the latter not taking part in the pilot program but still hosting matches.
FIFA will not provide any prize money or trophies because these are only friendlies.
According to Mammadov, discussions about a women’s version of the FIFA Series are underway, though nothing has been made official.
“We need to create additional opportunities for women’s teams to play matches, so this is something that will be communicated in the near future,” Mammadov said.
Eligibility to take part
Algeria will host Bolivia, Andorra, and South Africa, while Azerbaijan will entertain Mongolia, Tanzania, and Bulgaria.
Sri Lanka is hosting Papua New Guinea, Bhutan, and the Central African Republic.
Saudi Arabia (not playing) will host Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, and Cambodia, while Guinea, Vanuatu, Bermuda, and Brunei will compete in a separate section.
Why there are no high-ranked countries
Algeria is the highest-ranked team competing in the FIFA Series, sitting 43rd in the standings, while Sri Lanka is the lowest-ranked national team, ranking 204th out of 210 teams.
“The big member associations don’t have any issues finding friendly matches against other big member associations, whether it is within their confederation or another one,” says Kenny Jean-Marie, FIFA’s chief of member associations.
“But when you get lower in the rankings, you find plenty of member associations have never played against a team from another confederation.”
“They (high-ranked teams) announce when they are available and there is a queue forming to play against them,” adds Mammadov.
Mammadov claims he has already had conversations that indicate the 2026 FIFA Series will include higher-ranked national teams, calling it a “great opportunity” for them.
Mammadov and Jean-Marie noted that larger teams, such as England, France, Argentina, and the USMNT, had already scheduled international games for next month’s break.
Is it related to the expanded 2026 World Cup?
The 2026 World Cup, hosted in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will feature 48 teams, up from 32 in Qatar in 2022.
FIFA hopes that its new series, which includes 20 teams (with plans to expand in the coming years), will be a worthwhile exercise for some national teams.
“We are in a context where the next World Cup will be 48 teams,” adds Jean-Marie.
“Having 48 teams in the next World Cup means you will have many member associations who have never participated before in a World Cup.
“They will arrive in the U.S., Mexico and Canada with nearly no experience at international level outside of their continent.
“To those member associations, we are offering windows of opportunity to compete against other styles of play.”
FIFA certainly hopes so, though it has been acknowledged that the matches, particularly when the traveling teams play against each other, will not receive much local attention.
The fact that they are only friendly matches will do little to generate interest.
“The first edition will be an introduction, but at the next edition, which will be in March 2026, you might have international travelers who follow their team because some of the teams have never had tournament experience to follow their team,” says Mammadov.
“It all depends on the local communities. If, for example, there is a Mongolian community in Azerbaijan, then maybe they will go.
“When the home team is playing, there will be high interest. But when the travelling teams are playing, there will be low interest.”
FIFA has yet to announce how fans can watch matches, whether on TV or through streaming platforms but says something will be announced soon.
Its effect on the normal Football calendar?
Although FIFA is fixated on expanding tournaments (think the 2026 World Cup and the 2025 Club World Cup), it is not adding any new games to the football calendar through the FIFA Series.
This was a point raised by Mammadov when discussing whether, particularly if the FIFA Series is expanded for future editions, Europe’s top domestic leagues will be open to their players leaving to play in far-flung destinations.
“If you look to the friendly matches outside the FIFA Series, you can see some of the teams representing top leagues are travelling overseas and playing in different continents,” Mammadov said.
“That’s why we have the window between March 18 and 26, as it will give the players enough time to travel with their national team and go back to their respective clubs.”
FIFA SERIES EXPLAINED: What to know of the New World Football Tournament
