Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agengy: Official draws for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™ and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026™ to take place in Zurich on 21 May.
Competitions will build on the success of the inaugural annual FIFA U-17 tournaments last year.
This year’s editions will take place between October and December.
FIFA has confirmed that the official draws for the next editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ will be held at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich on 21 May 2026.
The news follows the success of the maiden annual edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, hosted in Qatar last year. The tournament – the 20th instalment overall and the first to feature 48 teams – showcased the game’s brightest young talents, culminating in Portugal lifting the trophy after an outstanding campaign. It marked a significant step forward in increasing global youth development opportunities, with the competition set to return at the end of this year for its second edition in this format.
The inaugural annual FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, staged in Morocco, also proved a major triumph. Combining high-quality football with strong local engagement, the expanded 24-team tournament saw Korea DPR crowned champions. It represented another important milestone in the continued growth of women’s football, with the next instalment scheduled for late this year.
Staged at FIFA’s global home in Zurich, the draws will be attended by football legends, as well as guests of the host countries, with proceedings broadcast live to fans around the world.
Further details regarding the draw procedures, participating teams and broadcast arrangements will be communicated in due course via FIFA’s official channels.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026™ will take place between 19 November and 13 December 2026, with 48 teams competing for the title of world champions.
The tenth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will take place in Morocco from 17 October to 7 November 2026, with 24 sides set to battle it out for global supremacy.