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FIFA announced on Wednesday its plans to launch a pair of complementary women’s global club competitions to determine the best team in the world — although the full-scale Women’s Club World Cup will be delayed to 2028, two years later than originally planned.
The FIFA Council voted on Wednesday to approve two new competitions: A Women’s Club World Cup, to launch in January 2028 and take place every four years, along with a smaller Women’s Champions Cup that will take place in the three other years of the cycle.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino originally proposed the idea of a Women’s Club World Cup in 2021, and FIFA had previously said the competition would launch in January 2026. The delay of the full-scale competition is to allow more time for planning and sponsorship acquisition, The Equalizer understands.
“Women’s football has reached new heights at national-team level, and now it’s time for global competitions that showcase the best clubs from around the world. These FIFA competitions will stimulate growth, inspire athletes, create new rivalries, engage more fans and crown heroes from all over the world,” Infantino said in a statement.
The Women’s Champions Cup will only feature the six confederation champions, while the full Women’s Club World Cup will include a play-in phase, a 16-team group stage, and a knockout stage, all in a centralized location.
In the first edition of the Women’s Club World Cup, UEFA will have five teams qualify directly to the group stage, while Concacaf, CONMEBOL, AFC and CAF will each have two teams. Each confederation will also have one play-in slot. OFC will not have any direct qualifiers. The rest of the 16-team field will be completed through a play-in round, with a semifinal and final knockout stage to follow.
The Champions Cup will launch in January 2026 at a site to be determined — either in Europe, North America or South America. It will also be played in 2027 and 2029.
The winners of the UEFA Champions League, the Women’s Copa Libertadores and the new Concacaf Women’s Champions League will automatically qualify for the semifinals of the first edition of the Champions Cup, while the winners of the AFC, CAF and OFC competitions will face off to advance to the semifinal stage.
The AFC champions will host the OFC champions in the first round of the preliminary stage, with the winner visiting the CAF champions in the second round. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals.
FIFA expects the format and allocation of teams for the competitions to evolve after the first cycle of competition. There is not currently any statistical head-to-head baseline for which teams are the best in the world, apart from sporadic friendly competitions in recent years.
“These are more than just new tournaments – these are drivers for the future of our sport that will raise standards, provide invaluable opportunities for growth and local development, and generate new revenue – all on a global scale,” recently appointed FIFA chief football officer Jill Ellis said in a statement. “We thank the confederations, clubs, leagues, players and all stakeholders for their open dialogue and support, as well as the FIFA Council for taking the final decision to give women’s club football an unprecedented global stage on a truly historic day that will redefine the women’s game.”
Confirmed dates so far:
FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026: 28 January 2026 to 1 February 2026
FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2027: 27 January to 31 January 2027
FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2029: 24 January to 28 January 2029
