With the aim of improving competitiveness, the FIFA Series will be launched, an initiative that will facilitate friendlies between teams located at great distances. The initiative of the governing body of football aims to bring together four teams from different confederations in a single host country every two years to play against each other.
The pilot test will take place from March 18 to 26, coinciding with the next date set for international friendlies. The idea is to learn from this experience to launch the first edition in March 2026 and from there repeat it every two years at the same time on the international calendar.
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“The FIFA Series represents a great step forward for the national teams of all the federations in the world,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “The ability to play more high-profile matches will provide a much more valuable competitive experience for players, teams and fans, and will contribute enormously to the development of football,” he added.
The teams playing the FIFA Series pilot test
Algeria, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka will host the pilot phase matches this year. Algeria (Confederation of African Football – CAF), Andorra (UEFA), Bolivia (CONMEBOL) and South Africa (CAF) will compete in the Algerian headquarters, while in Azerbaijan there will be the local team (UEFA), Bulgaria (UEFA), Mongolia (Confederation Asian Football – AFC) and Tanzania (CAF).
On the other hand, in Saudi Arabia, there will be two locations for this pilot test. In one, Cape Verde (CAF), Cambodia (AFC), Equatorial Guinea (CAF) and Guyana (Concacaf) will play, and in the other Bermuda (Concacaf), Guinea (CAF), Brunei (AFC) and Vanuatu (Confederation of Football Oceania – OFC).
Finally, Sri Lanka will host the host, Bhutan (AFC), Central African Republic (CAF) and Papua New Guinea (OFC).
