FIFA launches FIFA Series 2026, Vietnam national team could participate.
FIFA has confirmed that the FIFA Series 2026 will take place in March-April, will be open to both men and women, will be held in multiple countries (including Indonesia), and will not clash with the 2026 World Cup schedule.
FIFA confirmed on its website on November 22nd that the FIFA Series 2026 will take place during international breaks in March and April of next year. The tournament will be open to both men's and women's football, held in multiple countries across continents, and scheduled to avoid conflicts with the FIFA World Cup 2026, which kicks off on Thursday, June 11th, 2026.
The goal of the FIFA Series
The FIFA Series is designed as an international platform to promote global football development, providing opportunities for teams outside the traditional elite to compete. FIFA emphasizes a professional, standardized organizational model to make the FIFA Series a valuable tool for football development.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino emphasized: “The FIFA Series aims to unlock the potential for development of players, coaches and fans, while promoting the universality and diversity of football through meaningful matches. The 2026 edition will continue to elevate its impact on both men's and women's football.”
The inaugural tournament in 2024 brought together 24 teams, with inter-regional friendly matches in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka. Building on this foundation, FIFA aims to significantly expand its scale in 2026.
Scale and location in 2026
FIFA has stated that the FIFA Series 2026 will elevate both its scope and content. The men's version will include series of matches with professional significance across multiple countries; the women's version will debut with its own dedicated events.
| Category | Host country |
|---|---|
| Male | Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Uzbekistan |
| Female | Brazil, Ivory Coast, Thailand (full list to be published in early 2026) |
Match schedule and its connection to the World Cup.
The FIFA Series 2026, taking place in March and April, provides a safe buffer before the 2026 World Cup. Data from the 2024 tournament shows the interconnectedness: of the 24 teams that participated in the first FIFA Series, 7 teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup: Croatia, Algeria, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Cape Verde, and New Zealand; Bolivia could also qualify through the intercontinental play-offs.
On a broader level, the 2026 World Cup will be the biggest in history, marking the first time a 48-team format has been adopted, with the tournament taking place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Even so, FIFA is still adding the FIFA Series as a competition bracket to enhance controlled international competition.
Could the Vietnamese national team participate?
According to information from the FIFA Series, this is not a tournament exclusively for top teams. The tournament has no qualifying rounds and no regional restrictions; participating teams are invited based on FIFA's and the host country's organizational plans. In fact, in 2024, many mid-level Asian and African teams such as Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Namibia participated, demonstrating that Vietnam meets the criteria.
With Southeast Asia having a host country (Indonesia has been named), the possibility of the Vietnamese national team being invited is realistic if it fits the plans of FIFA and the host country. From a professional perspective, the FIFA Series is an environment to test lineups, accumulate inter-regional experience, and potentially improve FIFA ranking points, provided that the squad and long-term goals are carefully considered.
Key points to note
- Time: March-April 2026; World Cup 2026 starts on June 11, 2026.
- Scale: Expanded from the 24-team base in 2024; women's football will be added.
- Host countries: men's teams in Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Uzbekistan; women's teams in Brazil, Ivory Coast, Thailand.
- Interconnection: Seven teams that participated in the FIFA Series 2024 have qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
- Vietnam: no qualifying rounds, participation is by invitation; meets the criteria if there is a plan and professional readiness.