2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | TBA |
| Dates | 5–30 January |
| Teams | Competition proper: 16 Total: 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 is 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 created a new annual Women's Champions Cup to begin in the January/February 2026 slot. The Women's Club World Cup was expanded to 19 teams with qualification determined by the Women's Champions Cup, which would take place in the three years between 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 are planned to participate in the play-in phase, with the three winners joining 13 other clubs in the next stage, which will consist of four groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage.[6]
Slot allocation
The slot allocation for the inaugural edition will be as follows:[6]
| Confederation | Direct slots | Play-in slot | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 2 | 1 | |
| CAF | 2 | 1 | |
| CONCACAF | 2 | 1 | |
| CONMEBOL | 2 | 1 | |
| OFC | 0 | 1 | |
| UEFA | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 13 | 6 |
Qualified teams
| Confederation | Team(s) | Qualification | Qualified date(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC (2 slots) | Wuhan Jiangda | Winners of the 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League | 24 May 2025 |
| TBD | |||
| CAF (2 slots) | AS FAR | Winners of the 2025 CAF Women's Champions League | 21 November 2025 |
| TBD | |||
| CONCACAF (2 slots) | Gotham FC[8] | Winners of the 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup | 24 May 2025 |
| Winners of the 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup[9] | 23 May 2026 | ||
| CONMEBOL (2 slots) | Corinthians | Winners of the 2025 Copa Libertadores Femenina | 18 October 2025 |
| TBD | |||
| UEFA (5 slots) | Arsenal[10] | Winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League | 24 May 2025 |
| Winners of the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League | 23 May 2026 | ||
| Winners of the 2026–27 UEFA Women's Champions League | |||
| TBD | |||
| TBD |
| Confederation | Team(s) | Qualification | Qualified date(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC (1 slot) | |||
| CAF (1 slot) | |||
| CONCACAF (1 slot) | |||
| CONMEBOL (1 slot) | |||
| OFC (1 slot) | |||
| UEFA (1 slot) |
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.
- ^ "Gotham FC wins inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup". CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Concacaf confirms key details for 2025/26 W Champions Cup". CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. 12 May 2025.
- ^ Wright, Stephen (23 July 2025). "Arsenal to play in 2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup". Arsenal Football Club. Retrieved 5 June 2025.