The FIFA Council had a meeting on March 14, 2024, and they decided that Qatar will be the host country for the next five FIFA U-17 World Cup tournaments. This means the tournaments will happen there from 2025 to 2029. They also decided to make the tournaments bigger by including 48 teams instead of the usual number.
In a statement released today, the FIFA Council talked about how important it is to focus on young football players. They said they chose Qatar because they want to make the FIFA U-17 World Cup happen every year and include more teams. This change starts from 2025.
They also said that the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be in Morocco until 2029. This tournament will have 24 teams, and it will also happen every year starting from 2025. The FIFA Council asked countries worldwide if they wanted to host these tournaments, and they chose places that already have good football fields and other facilities to make the tournaments better and more eco-friendly.
Also, the FIFA Council looked at a report about what they did in 2023. They were happy to see that they have a lot of money and that they are spending a record amount, $2.25 billion, on helping football grow until 2026. They call this program FIFA Forward 3.0.