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The FIFA Series, originally known as FIFA World Series, is a biennial invitational football competition promoted by FIFA that features international friendlies between national teams from different confederations, taking place in March of every even-numbered year. The first edition was held in March 2024.
| Organising body | FIFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2024 |
| Region | International |
| Number of teams | 24 (from 6 confederations) |
| Website | Official website |
 2024 FIFA Series | |
The competition brings together men's national teams from all six FIFA confederations in a series of mini-tournaments, each consisting of four teams and held at a centralised venue during the FIFA match window in March of every even-numbered year.[1][2] FIFA provides financial support to the participating national teams and is also in charge of organising the tournaments together with the host member association.[3]
History
editOn 16 December 2022, FIFA launched a friendly competition proposal, named the "FIFA World Series", in order to give national teams from different confederations more opportunities to play against each other.[1][4][5] FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed the competition on 16 March 2023, following his re-election to the post during the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda.[3]
The inaugural edition in 2024 acted as a pilot phase for the competition and was originally going to feature 5 series of 4 teams each to be held in 4 host countries during the FIFA match window from 18 to 26 March 2024.[6][2] Eventually the FIFA Series: Egypt was added for a total of 6 series and 24 teams in the inaugural edition.[7]
Following the success of the pilot phase, Infantino announced the second edition in 2026 during his speech at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand in May 2024.[8][9]
Results
edit| Year | Host | Final | Third place match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | ||||
| 2024 |  Algeria
|
Algeria |
n/a |  Bolivia |
 South Africa |
n/a |  Andorra | ||
 Azerbaijan
|
 Bulgaria |
n/a | Azerbaijan |
 Tanzania |
n/a |  Mongolia | |||
 Egypt
|
 Croatia |
4–2 |  Egypt |
 Tunisia |
0–0 (4–2 p) |
 New Zealand | |||
 Saudi Arabia (A)
|
 Cape Verde |
n/a |  Guyana |
 Equatorial Guinea |
n/a |  Cambodia | |||
| Saudi Arabia (B)
|
 Guinea |
n/a |  Brunei |
 Bermuda |
n/a |  Vanuatu | |||
 Sri Lanka
|
 Central African Republic |
n/a | Sri Lanka |
 Papua New Guinea |
n/a |  Bhutan | |||
- ^n/a A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.
Participating nations
edit| Team | 2024 | 2025 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | |||
 Bhutan |
4th | 1 | |
 Brunei |
2nd | 1 | |
 Cambodia |
4th | 1 | |
 Mongolia |
4th | 1 | |
 Sri Lanka |
2nd | 1 | |
| CAF | |||
 Algeria |
1st | Q | 2 |
 Cape Verde |
1st | 1 | |
 Central African Republic |
1st | 1 | |
 Egypt |
2nd | 1 | |
 Equatorial Guinea |
3rd | 1 | |
 Guinea |
1st | 1 | |
 South Africa |
3rd | 1 | |
 Tanzania |
3rd | 1 | |
 Tunisia |
3rd | 1 | |
| CONCACAF | |||
 Bermuda |
3rd | 1 | |
 Guyana |
2nd | 1 | |
| CONMEBOL | |||
 Bolivia |
2nd | 1 | |
| OFC | |||
 New Zealand |
4th | 1 | |
 Papua New Guinea |
3rd | 1 | |
 Vanuatu |
4th | 1 | |
| UEFA | |||
 Andorra |
4th | 1 | |
 Azerbaijan |
2nd | 1 | |
 Bulgaria |
1st | 1 | |
 Croatia |
1st | 1 | |
- Legend
|
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "FIFA World Cup 2022™ praised for its "unique cohesive power"" (in Spanish). FIFA. 16 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Qué es la FIFA Series, la competencia que contará con amistosos exóticos entre selecciones" [What is the FIFA Series, the competition that will feature exotic friendlies between national teams?] (in Spanish). Olé. 17 February 2024.
- ^ a b "2023-2027: FIFA President lays out objectives for the future". FIFA. 16 March 2023.
- ^ Smith, Alan (16 December 2022). "New FIFA World Series and how it could work as Gianni Infantino outlines new tournament plans". www.mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror.
- ^ Sengupta, Ayon (16 December 2022). "FIFA to launch biennial 'FIFA World Series' for inter-confederation matches: President Infantino". sportstar.thehindu.com. Doha: Sportstar.
- ^ "FIFA Series international friendlies pilot project to commence in March 2024". FIFA. 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Egypt announced as host as FIFA Series pilot phase expanded". FIFA. 19 March 2024.
- ^ "Gianni Infantino emphasises FIFA's mission to grow football globally in FIFA Congress address". FIFA. 17 May 2024.
- ^ "FIFA President's Address | Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand Friday, 17 May 2024" (PDF). FIFA. 17 May 2024.