FIFA Confirms Hosts and Group Line-Up for Expanded FIFA Series 2026

FIFA has confirmed the full line-up of hosts and the composition of the groups for the FIFA Series 2026, marking a significant milestone in the continued expansion of the initiative for men’s and women’s national teams.

Following the announcement of the expanded format in November 2025, the FIFA Series 2026 will feature 48 national teams competing in 12 groups of four teams each during the international match window in March and April.

With 48 participating teams – representing almost 25 per cent of FIFA’s 211 Member Associations – nearly a quarter of the global football community will take part in the FIFA Series. Eleven FIFA Member Associations will host the series of events, with Rwanda hosting two groups, bringing the total number of groups to 12.

The initiative will include nine men’s groups and three women’s groups, with all six FIFA confederations represented, underlining the truly global nature of the FIFA Series.

The confirmed hosts for the men’s groups are Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Rwanda and Uzbekistan.

The women’s contests will take place in Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire and Thailand. All FIFA Series 2026 encounters will be broadcast and made available to a global audience, ensuring worldwide visibility for participating national teams and increasing access for fans across all regions.

The FIFA Series 2026 brings together national teams with a wide range of competitive profiles, reinforcing its development-driven design.

On the men’s side, participating teams span the full breadth of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, from established teams such as Australia (men’s side, ranked 26th) to emerging football nations like the US Virgin Islands (ranked 207th).

For the women’s, the Series will involve teams ranked as highly Brazil (ranked 7th) all the way to Turks and Caicos (ranked 194th). This diversity reflects FIFA’s commitment to creating meaningful international bouts for representative teams of Member Associations at all stages of development.

Five men’s national teams participating in the FIFA Series 2026 – Australia, Cabo Verde, Curaçao, New Zealand and Uzbekistan – have also qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, further highlighting the competitive relevance of the initiative alongside its development objectives.

The FIFA Series also continues to support holistic football development off the pitch. Hosting and Participating Member Associations benefit from hands-on experience in event delivery, operational planning, referee development and competition organisation, mirroring the conditions of major international tournaments and strengthening capacity across multiple functional areas.

The FIFA Series 2026 remains fully aligned with FIFA’s Strategic Objectives for the Global Game: 2023-2027, providing national teams with opportunities for cross-confederation competition without adding fixtures to the international match calendar, while promoting technical growth, organisational development and global exchange.