Fans at the FIFA U17 World Cup Qatar 2025
Ashwin Muralidharan

2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar: The most revolutionary U17 World Cup ever?

In many ways, the 2025 edition of the FIFA U17 World Cup is perhaps the most revolutionary or unique. Currently being held in Qatar, this is a tournament which has transformed the way the world will see expanded global tournaments, thanks to a multitude of factors including the number of teams, compactness of the venue and more.

  • 48 teams

    The 2025 edition of the FIFA U17 World Cup is a 48-team event, making it the first World Cup at any level to feature these many teams. Qatar, who are set to host five editions of the tournament including the 2025 one, have shown the way for expanded FIFA tournaments, organising a humongous amount of matches in a compact manner that minimises travel for fans and players. 

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  • 72 group matches in 9 days; 104 total matches in 25 days!

    With 48 teams participating in the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup, hosts Qatar were always going to have to organise a huge number of matches, especially during the group stage. 

    However, thanks to their exceptional Aspire Zone sports city, they organised a mammoth 72 matches during the group stage within a span of 9 days. It's a mind-boggling figure when you consider the fact that the 2022 World Cup featured a total of 64 games across the whole tournament which lasted 29 days!

    In total, the 2025 edition of the FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar will have a total of 104 matches, across just 25 days. That is nothing but astounding.

  • Aspire Zone pitches in QatarSC

    8 pitches, 8 games a day!

    And another astonishing fact is that all these games were played within one integrated sports complex in Al Rayyan, Qatar, called the Aspire Zone.

    Eight pitches, all within touching distance of each other, hosts the entirety of the tournament apart from the final. More importantly, the group stages featured eight games a day, with fans able to watch multiple matches and get their fill of high-quality youth football. 

  • Round of 32

    This is also the first FIFA tournament to feature a Round of 32. After the group stages ended, the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup will see the Round of 32 matches commence.

    Interestingly, the 2026 FIFA World Cup next year will also see the Round of 32.

  • 250 goals scored in group stages alone!

    And guess what? The 2025 edition has already seen a total of 250 goals scored during the group stages alone. 

    To put it in context, this is the first time ever a FIFA U17 World Cup edition has seen the 200-tournament goal milestone. The ongoing edition also witnessed the biggest win in the tournament's history, when Morocco defeated New Caledonia 16-0. 

    Most notably, Czechia’s Vit Skrkon scored the first hat-trick of the tournament while Belgium's Rene Mitongo scored four goals in a game against Fiji. 

  • 1008 players

    The tournament has seen a total of 1008 players compete in the group stage alone. It must be noted that five teams made their U17 World Cup debut this edition - Fiji, Ireland, Zambia, El Salvador and Uganda.

    Of course, for such a huge amount of players, Qatar set up 16 training pitches during the group stages, with almost 364 training sessions organised during the tournament so far.

  • 880 artists and performers at the Fan Zone

    With all the matches happening centrally in the Aspire Zone competition complex, a total of 880 artists and performers entertained the fans in the fan zone. The performances included traditional art from various parts of the country. 

    The fan zone also supported various local brands and businesses.