The FIFA Council, which met this Wednesday in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, has approved that the first Women’s Club World Cup be held between January and February 2026 and have 16 teams. The body that governs football federations around the world has not yet given more details about the competition, which will be held every four years and in which the best teams in Europe, from the United States league, are expected to face each other ( NWSL, in its acronym in English) and from other continents and countries where football played by women is less developed.
The step taken today by FIFA comes after its president, Gianni Infantino, stated in May 2021 that the organization was working to introduce the women’s Club World Cup, which will arrive at the beginning of 2026, that is, half a year after The first men’s Club World Cup will be held in the summer of 2025 in the United States, in which 32 teams will participate – until now the tournament had seven teams.
Although the body that regulates world football has not yet decided the process and the quota that it will grant to each of the confederations – the European, the African, the Oceanic, the Asian, the South American and the one that brings together North America, the Center and the Caribbean—FIFA sources explain that the women’s Club World Cup will operate in a similar way to the men’s, that is, the teams with the best results in continental competitions will be represented in the tournament. For example, in the case of Europe, qualification would be achieved through a good performance in the Champions League, where Barça – the only Spanish team that has won it – is the current champion and, in addition, will defend on Sunday, May 25. at the San Mamés stadium (Bilbao) their crown in the final against Olympique Lyon, the most successful team in the history of the Champions League with eight titles.
The Club World Cup, therefore, will have a unique attraction: seeing the best clubs in Europe compete with their American counterparts, a country that is a historical power in soccer played by women. In addition to being the national team with the most World Cups (four), the USA has a very competitive league, with high salaries, which manages to attract European players and coaches. Two of the most recent cases with the most media coverage are that of Jonatan Giráldez, the Barcelona coach, who will leave the club at the end of the season after three years to go to the Washington Spirit, and that of Emma Hayes, the Chelsea coach, who after 13 courses will leave the set blue to lead the American team.
In addition to the Club World Cup, FIFA has announced that during the years in which it is not held, the organization will develop another women’s club competition starting in 2027 to promote the development of this sport, although it has not given more details. The entity led by Infantino has also shortened the international periods during the season from six to five to “reduce interruptions in the national leagues and travel” of the players and has approved a reform of the Regulation on the Status and Transfer of Players ( RSTP, in its acronym in English). This text establishes minimum criteria that member federations must comply with, that is, it is a regulatory umbrella that the countries themselves can expand to provide greater protection to female athletes in their work.
In December 2020, FIFA reformed the RSTP to include something as basic as the right to maternity leave – included in Convention 183 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) – with a period of paid work rest of 14 weeks as minimum. In the case of Spain, the League F agreement offers greater protection and is higher than the minimum requirements that the organization requires of its federations. One of the things it establishes, for example, is that a soccer player who becomes pregnant has the right to renew for a season with the same conditions that she already had. FIFA has modified the text again this Wednesday to “expand the rights and protection of adoptive parents and non-biological mothers and recognize the physical, psychological and social aspects in the event that labor services cannot be provided due to painful menstrual periods or pregnancy-related medical complications.” This newspaper has asked what these modifications will mean, but is still waiting for a response.
FIFA decides on Friday who will organize the 2027 World Cup
The FIFA Congress – the entity’s legislative body made up of its 211 members – will decide this Friday where the 2027 World Cup will be held, in which Spain will defend the title won in Australia and New Zealand last summer. The two candidatures that remain are that of Brazil – it has never been played in South America – and the joint one between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany after two weeks ago the United States and Mexico withdrew their proposal to focus on hosting the tournament in 2031. The other suitor, South Africa, dropped out of the race last November. In the evaluation report published by FIFA on May 7, the Brazilian candidacy obtained a rating of 4 out of 5, while the joint proposal of the three European countries achieved a 3.7.
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