United States to Host First Women's Club World Cup in January 2028
The United States will host the first Women's Club World Cup, with the tournament scheduled for 5 to 30 January 2028. BBC Sport reports that the competition will feature 19 teams from around the world.
The hosting decision came from the FIFA Council's Bureau, the body that makes key decisions for world football's governing body. FIFA is the sport's global organiser, and it runs the men's and women's World Cups. This new event is a club competition, meaning the teams are domestic club sides rather than national teams.
The tournament is designed to follow the pattern of the men's Club World Cup, which the United States also staged in 2025. The women's version will be held every four years. That gap matters for fans, because it means a tournament that comes round once in a generation of players' careers rather than once a season.
Seven teams have so far booked their places. Arsenal, the English club, are one of them. Arsenal won the inaugural Women's Champions Cup in February, the first edition of that European-based event. The other six are Barcelona of Spain, Gotham of the United States, Club America of Mexico, Corinthians of Brazil, Naegohyang of North Korea and Wuhan Jiangda of China.
The remaining 12 places will be decided later. Six will go to European clubs representing UEFA, the continent's governing body. The other six are shared out between the continental confederations: three each from Asia (AFC), Africa (CAF), North and Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf), and South America (Conmebol), plus one from Oceania (OFC). Clubs qualify through their own continental competitions, so the final line-up will depend on results still to come.
For casual fans, the simplest way to picture it is a yearly-style trophy hunt with a long wait between editions. Four years is a long time in women's football. Players who are young now could be in their late twenties by the time the first tournament kicks off. Clubs will be planning for it well ahead, and supporters will be checking the qualifying routes long before January 2028 arrives.
The tournament will also be the first of its kind, so the rules and format are still settling. What is already clear is the date, the host and the number of teams. The rest of the field will be filled over the next stretch of the calendar, and each qualifying place will be a new chance for a club to write itself into the story.
