The first women’s Club World Cup in football has finally been postponed. Due to the Summer Olympics, it will be held in the European winter of 2028.
The tournament, in which 16 teams will take part, is now on the calendar from January 5th to 30th. The European summer was out of the question because the Los Angeles Olympics are scheduled for July 14-30.
It is still unclear where the first women’s club world champion will be played.
Postponed for two years
When it was decided in 2022 that there would also be a Women’s Club World Cup, the first event was scheduled for 2026. Since there was still a need for coordination, which was said to have primarily concerned marketing, it was postponed.
The Club World Cup will be a “defining moment” for the development of women’s football, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said when the postponement was announced in March 2025.
In contrast to the men’s team, which played against world champion Chelsea FC with 32 teams in the USA in the summer of 2025, the women’s field of participants will initially only be half as large.
Five solid starters from Europe
Of the 16 places, 13 are firmly allocated to five different continental associations. The European Football Union Uefa is allowed to field five teams. Two starting places each go to the confederations from Asia (AFC), Africa (CAF), South America (Conmebol) and North and Central America as well as the states from the Caribbean (Concacaf).
The Association from Oceania (OFC) is allowed to send a team to the play-ins, just like any other confederation. Three additional participants will be determined in the play-ins, for which there is no further information yet.
| confederacy | directly qualified | Play Ins |
|---|---|---|
Uefa | 5 | 1 |
AFC | 2 | 1 |
CAF | 2 | 1 |
Conmebol | 2 | 1 |
Concacaf | 2 | 1 |
OFC | – | 1 |
Bundesliga may be affected
If one or more teams from the German Bundesliga qualify for the Club World Cup, this would probably have an impact on the 2027/28 season.
In the current season, the highest German class with its 14 teams goes into the winter break shortly before Christmas. On the weekend from January 23rd to 25th the new year continues with the 15th matchday.
The 14 clubs in the current Bundesliga founded a league association at the beginning of December, without the participation of the German Football Association (DFB). This initially caused upset.
It is unclear what consequences the further process will have on a possible expansion of the league and thus the calendar.