FIFA Series for smaller nations to have 48 teams in second edition

Jan 19 - The second edition of the FIFA Series, sponsored biennial tournaments for mainly lower-ranked and lesser-financed nations, will have 48 teams taking part this year, including five that qualified for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA said on Monday.

World soccer's governing body announced in November that the tournaments with friendly matches was expanding in 2026 while also launching a women's edition, with 11 host countries in all.

Australia, Cape Verde, Curacao, New Zealand and Uzbekistan -- all of whom qualified for the 2026 men's World Cup -- will take part in the FIFA Series this year during the international match window in March and April.

The aim is to benefit national teams lacking opportunities to play sides from other continents, with FIFA contributing to travel costs, accommodation and other logistics.

Though some games in the first 24-nation series in 2024 were sparsely attended, others did spark big fan interest, with more than 85,000 turning up for Egypt's tournament finale against Croatia in Cairo which they lost 4-2.

MEN'S GROUPS

Indonesia: Bulgaria, Indonesia (hosts), Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis

Rwanda – Group A: Estonia, Grenada, Kenya, Rwanda (hosts)

Rwanda – Group B: Aruba, Liechtenstein, Macau, Tanzania

Puerto Rico: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico (hosts), US Virgin Islands

Uzbekistan: Gabon, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan (hosts), Venezuela

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan (hosts), Oman, Sierra Leone, St Lucia

Australia: Australia (hosts), Cameroon, China, Curacao

New Zealand: Cape Verde, Chile, Finland, New Zealand (hosts)

Kazakhstan: Comoros, Kazakhstan (hosts), Kuwait, Namibia

WOMEN'S GROUPS

Thailand: Congo DR, Nepal, OFC team, Thailand (hosts)

Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast (hosts), Mauritania, Pakistan, Turks and Caicos Islands

Brazil: Brazil (hosts), Canada, Korea Republic, Zambia REUTERS