Fifa’s new Women’s Club World Cup could be delayed beyond 2026 | OneFootball

Fifa’s new 16-team Women’s Club World Cup could be delayed beyond its previously proposed 2026 launch, the Guardian has learned.

The tournament is understood to maintain widespread backing within the governing body, as well as across the confederations, but discussions are ongoing regarding the possibility of the inaugural staging of the event being pushed back by a couple of years to allow more time for all concerned to properly prepare for it, according to sources.

No final decisions regarding dates have been made but it is understood the matter will be discussed at a Fifa Council meeting this week, where, according to sources, there remains “unwavering support” for launching the tournament.

It is believed one idea that will be raised at the meeting is introducing a mini-tournament with only four teams in 2026, creating breathing space for stakeholders to then work towards fully realising a 16-team version.

Fifa announced plans for a Women’s Club World Cup in May 2021 and last year it proposed that the tournament would take place between January and February of 2026 following approval by the Fifa Council of the updated women’s football calendar. Speaking at the time, Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president said: “To this date, we don’t have a global club competition for women. We need to give players an opportunity to perform on the global stage and to develop themselves in all the continents of the world.”

A men’s club World Cup was launched in 2000, known then as the Fifa Club World Championship, and this summer, in the United States, becomes a 32-team quadrennial competition, with Manchester City and Chelsea the Premier League’s two representatives.

The past 11 versions of the previous men’s format were won by European teams. There is a widespread belief that the women’s version will be far more competitive given the strength of women’s leagues in the United States, Mexico, Japan and Australia.

Header image: [Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters]