FIFA Women’s Club World Cup to Launch in January 2026

FIFA will launch a Women’s Club World Cup starting in January 2026 that will involve 16 club teams from around the world although the international federation on Wednesday did not specify how they would qualify or where they could play the inaugural event.

FIFA has made launching a global club tournament a key part of its strategy to develop women’s soccer since Gianni Infantino was elected as president in 2016. The tournament should be held every four years, like the men’s edition.

“The Women’s International Match Calendar and the subsequent amendments to our regulations represent an important milestone in our pledge to take the women’s game to the next level by enhancing competitiveness across the world,” said Infantino.
Barcelona and Lyon are the top-ranked European teams and have combined to win 10 Champions League titles since 2011. They will meet in the next final on May 25 in Bilbao, Spain. The NWSL regular season started in mid-March and runs through the end of November.

A 32-team men’s Club World Cup will debut in next year in the United States. The tournament lineup includes Champions League finalists Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund plus Manchester City and Bayern Munich. FIFA also plans to launch an annual “Intercontinental Cup” in December featuring champions of the six men’s continental competitions, such as the Champions League in Europe.

FIFA also moved Wednesday toward ending decades of tradition by ordering a review of its policy that currently blocks domestic league games being played in other countries. The United States and Saudi Arabia are expected to be willing hosts to lure competitive games from top European countries after FIFA recently agreed to withdraw from an ongoing court case in New York filed by promoter Relevent to challenge the veto on organizing competitive league games.

FIFA’s rules were last amended in 2014 and require consent for out-of-territory club games from the FIFA member federation and confederation hosting them and attempts since then to have European league games abroad, including taking Barcelona to Miami in 2019, were blocked. Back in 2018, Infantino said he would “prefer to see a great MLS game in the U.S. rather than La Liga being in the U.S.”

Italy, Spain and France have been able to go abroad to countries including Saudi Arabia, China and Israel for their domestic Super Cup, which are largely ceremonial games between the previous season’s national league and cup title holders.