FIFA U17 World Cup 2026: Dates announced for global youth tournament in Qatar

FIFA and the Local Organising Committee for Football Events (LOC) in Qatar have announced the dates for the 2026 edition of the FIFA U17 World Cup.

The tournament will be held in Qatar again from 19 November 2026 to 13 December 2026.

This will be the second of the five consecutive U17 World Cups to be hosted by Qatar - from 2025 to 2029.

And like last year in 2025, all the matches will be held in the Aspire Zone, which boasts of several world-class pitches in a state-of-the-art Competition Complex.

The 2026 edition of the tournament will feature 48 teams, just like last year. The final draw for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2026 will be held in Zurich on 21st May.

A total of 104 matches will be played in the competition, with multiple matches being held everyday withiin the Aspire Zone complex.

The centralised concept was one of the cornerstones behind the success of the tournament in 2025, with more than 197,460 spectators in attendance across 104 matches over 15 match days.

With tomorrow’s stars congregated into a complex, showcasing their skills, there was no dearth of scouts as well, with the 2025 edition pulling in more than 130 football scouts from the leading clubs in the world.

Something similar can be expected in the 2026 edition as well.

Qatar have put together a stage for the next generation of superstars, with the likes of Mateus Mide (Portugal), Johannes Moser (Austria), Samuele Inacio (Italy), Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt), Jesse Bisiwu (Belgium) and Nathan De Cat (Belgium) grabbing the limelight last year.

It was Portugal who prevailed last year, after a closely fought final against Austria, with Anisio Cabral finishing as the topscorer of the tournament.

This year, there will be new stars in action across the Aspire Zone in Qatar.

FIFA

The final of the tournament will be held at the Khalifa International Stadium just like the 2025 edition where a crowd of 38,901 witnessed Portugal’s crowning glory.

Interestingly, this year marks 50 years since Khalifa International Stadium was inaugurated in 1976. The iconic stadium has hosted matches during the 2022 FIFA World Cup apart from other premier sporting events.