The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is heating up with a packed calendar of events and qualifications in 2025. With the host nations, Canada, Mexico, and the USA, already secured, other teams are fighting for their spots across a variety of tournaments and qualifiers. Here’s a glimpse at the exciting events lined up:
FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers
- AFC (Asia): The third round of qualification continues in March 2025.
- CAF (Africa): The next round of fixtures also takes place in March 2025.
- Concacaf (North America): The second round continues in March 2025.
- CONMEBOL (South America): Their next round of fixtures is in March 2025.
- OFC (Oceania): The third round of qualification will take place in March 2025.
- UEFA (Europe): The qualification tournament kicks off in March 2025.
The qualification campaigns across these confederations will continue throughout 2025, with the first qualifiers joining the three host nations to be confirmed in March.
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
- Dates: May 1–11, 2025
- Location: Seychelles
16 teams will compete in the thrilling FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, with eight teams already confirmed: Belarus, Italy, Mauritania, Portugal, Senegal, Seychelles, Spain, and Tahiti. The remaining spots will be filled through qualifiers from CONMEBOL, AFC, and Concacaf.
FIFA Club World Cup
- Dates: June 14–July 13, 2025
- Location: USA
This will be the biggest FIFA Club World Cup yet, with 32 top clubs from around the world battling it out. Matches will take place across 12 venues, with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and the opening match between Al Ahly FC and Inter Miami CF at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
FIFA U-20 World Cup
- Dates: September 27–October 19, 2025
- Location: Chile
The 24th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup will feature 24 teams, including New Zealand, New Caledonia, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Ukraine, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and the USA, who have already secured their spots.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
- Dates: October 17–November 8, 2025
- Location: Morocco
Morocco will host the ninth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with 23 teams joining the hosts for the competition. Some teams like New Zealand, Samoa, Japan, and Korea DPR have already booked their places.
FIFA U-17 World Cup
- Dates: November 5–27, 2025
- Location: Qatar
This expanded edition of the U-17 World Cup will see 48 teams competing, and will be held annually from 2025 to 2029 in Qatar.
FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup
- Dates: November 21–December 7, 2025
- Location: Philippines
The first-ever FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup will be held in the Philippines, where 16 teams from all six confederations will compete.
FIFA Arab Cup
- Dates: To be confirmed
- Location: Qatar
Qatar will host the FIFA Arab Cup in 2025, following an agreement to host the tournament in 2025, 2029, and 2033. Algeria are the current holders.
FIFA Intercontinental Cup
This exciting annual tournament brings together the champions of all six global confederations to compete for global supremacy. Real Madrid were crowned champions in 2024 after defeating Pachuca in a thrilling final.
With so much action on the horizon, 2025 promises to be a thrilling year for football fans around the world!
