Qatar will host a FIFA U-17 World Cup every year from 2025 to 2029.
The FIFA Council held a meeting on March 14, 2024 and announced that Qatar had been selected as the host country for the next five editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, from 2025 to 2029.
The latest FIFA Council meeting confirmed that Qatar will host the upcoming five editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will now feature 48 teams.
Qatar to host FIFA U-17 World Cup
A FIFA statement said: “As part of the governing body’s steadfast commitment to youth football and following the decision to expand the FIFA U-17 World Cup to 48 teams and hold it annually rather than biennially, it was confirmed that the next five editions of the competition, starting in 2025, will take place in Qatar”.
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which has been expanded to 24 teams and will be played annually as of 2025, will be hosted by Morocco until 2029, the statement added pointing that the two decisions followed a global call for expressions of interest in hosting both competitions, with a focus on leveraging the use of existing footballing infrastructure in the interest of tournament efficiencies and sustainability.
Meanwhile, the FIFA Council has unanimously approved the Annual Report 2023, which confirms the organisation’s exceptionally healthy and sustainable situation, with record investment in football development of $2.25bn earmarked for the entire 2023-2026 cycle as part of the FIFA Forward 3.0 Programme.
The Annual Report, which was duly approved by the FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee and the FIFA Finance Committee, will be distributed to all 211 member associations and submitted to the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on Friday, 17 May 2024 for final approval.
Introducing the hosts for the next five editions of the #U17WC and #U17WWC: Qatar and Morocco! 🇶🇦🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/17kNuOfw33
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) March 14, 2024
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Thanks to its solid financial governance, FIFA is well on track to exceed its budgetary target of $11bn for the 2023-2026 cycle.
“This means that we will be able to deliver more tailored services for our 211 member associations to assist them in realising their development and education projects and taking football to the next level.
“FIFA’s sound financial position will be key to successfully implementing our Strategic Objectives for 2023-2027, in cooperation with our 211 member associations and the six confederations”.
The voting procedure for the designation of the host(s) of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 by the upcoming Congress was also confirmed and foresees that the result of each ballot and the related votes will be made public.
A bid from Brazil, a joint bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and a joint bid from Mexico and the United States are currently in the bidding process, which is set to conclude in Bangkok in May, where the host(s) of the next edition will be decided by FIFA’s member associations.
