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FIFA Women's Club World Cup

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This article is about the future women's club football competition. For the competition among national teams, see FIFA Women's World Cup.
FIFA Women's Club World Cup
Organising bodyFIFA
Founded2022
RegionInternational
Number of teams16
2026 FIFA Women's Club World Cup

The FIFA Women's Club World Cup is an international women's association football competition that is proposed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The inaugural edition is scheduled to take place in early 2026.

History

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The International Women's Club Championship (IWCC) was the first international annual competition contested by women's champion clubs. The competition was founded and organised by the Japan Football Association and the L. League.[1] The first International Women's Club Championship took place in Japan in November 2012 with participation from four teams: Olympique Lyonnais (Europe), Canberra United (Australia), INAC Kobe Leonessa (Japan) and NTV Beleza (cup winner, Japan).[2]

In October 2012, L-League's senior executive, Yoshinori Taguchi, announced that he intended the IWCC run for three years and expand to include more continental champions.[3] It was also envisaged that FIFA would ultimately endorse the tournament as a female equivalent of the FIFA Club World Cup.[4]

In October 2013, FIFA's executive committee heard a proposal from their Women's Football Task Force to explore the idea of an official FIFA Women's Club World Cup.[5] The board of the Brazilian club São José, winner of the 2013 Copa Libertadores Femenina, went so far as to say that FIFA had approved the holding of an interclub tournament between the South American champions and 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League champions VfL Wolfsburg during 2014.[6] However, the proposed match between the two continental champions never progressed beyond the planning stages.

In 2015 the FIFA Women's Football Task Force again proposed the creation of the FIFA Women's Club World Cup.[7] The Task Force also proposed an increase in teams and in development of competitions at confederation level in relation to the FIFA Women's Club World Cup.[8]

A friendly played between Arsenal L.F.C. (FA Women's Cup holders) and Seattle Reign FC (NWSL Shield holders) on 26 May 2016 (finished with a draw of 1–1) at Memorial Stadium in Seattle was described as "a stepping stone to the grand idea of a FIFA Women's Club World Cup."[9]

In 2017, Chief Women's Football Officer Sarai Bareman mentioned the possibility of a Women's Club World Cup, in saying that "we have to be very careful about how we introduce it, when we introduce it and it has to include all regions. As you well know, not all regions are at the same development level but there's an amazing opportunity that exists, but we have to be very strategic and careful about how we do it."[10]

During the closing press conference for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, president Gianni Infantino outlined a proposal for the creation of the tournament "starting as soon as possible" as a step towards the future development of women's football.[11] In December 2022, FIFA announced plans to establish a Women's Club World Cup, but the women's football calendar would remain unchanged until 2025.[12]

In May 2024, FIFA announced that the inaugural edition of the tournament would take place in January and February 2026 and would feature 16 teams. It was confirmed that the competition would take place every four years.[13][14] FIFA also announced that there will be a second global women's club competition similar to the men's FIFA Intercontinental Cup played on an annual basis in non-FIFA Women's Club World Cup years starting from 2027.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kessel, Anna (29 November 2013). "Chelsea Ladies anticipate 'mind-blowing' reception in Japan for IWCC". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Women's round-up: November 2012". FIFA. 30 November 2012. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  3. ^ International women’s club championship set for November Japan Football Association, Oct 18, 2012, viewed Nov. 23, 2012
  4. ^ １１月に国際女子クラブ選手権初開催！日テレなど参加 [International Women's Club Championship will be first held in November! NTV etc. participate] (in Japanese). Japan. Sports Nippon. 2012-10-17. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  5. ^ FIFA ExCo exploring idea of Women’s Club World Cup Equalizer Soccer, Oct 4, 2013, viewed Nov 30, 2013
  6. ^ "Fifa estuda Mundial de futebol feminino entre São José e Wolfsburg". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). Rede Globo. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  7. ^ "FIFA Task Force for Women's Football proposes a FIFA Women's Club World Cup". fifa.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Task Force calls for greater inclusion and participation of women". fifa.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Seattle Reign play Arsenal to a draw". sounderatheart.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  10. ^ "FIFA's Chief Women's Football Officer Sarai Bareman discusses the future of the game – Part 1". offsiderulepodcast.com. 30 October 2017.
  11. ^ "FIFA President Infantino hails France 2019, outlines proposals for future of women's game". FIFA. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  12. ^ "FIFA to introduce women's Club World Cup to football calendar". The Athletic. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  13. ^ "FIFA confirm Women's Club World Cup to kick off in 2026". ESPN. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  14. ^ "FIFA sets date for first Women's Club World Cup. Tournament due to launch in January 2026". Associated Press. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  15. ^ "First Edition Of FIFA Women's Club World Cup To Be Played In 2026". Forbes. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
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