The FIFA Council met in advance of the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, and adopted several key decisions, particularly in relation to the future of men’s and women’s competitions, for which the respective international match calendars were unanimously approved following a detailed consultation process.
Men’s International Match Calendar 2025-2030
The Men’s International Match Calendar 2025-2030 will be structured as follows:
- March: a nine-day, two-match window
- June: a nine-day, two-match window (including friendlies in preparation of final tournaments where appropriate)
- Late September/early October: a 16-day, four-match window (to be introduced as of 2026, with two nine-day, two-match windows to be retained in September and October 2025)
- November: a nine-day, two-match window
Based on the new calendar, the FIFA World Cup 2026 final will be played on Sunday, 19 July 2026, with the mandatory release period starting on 25 May 2026, following the last official club match on 24 May 2026 (exemptions may apply to the final matches of confederation club competitions until 30 May 2026 subject to FIFA’s approval). With 56 days, the total combined number of rest, release and tournament days remain identical to the 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup™ editions. The detailed Men’s International Match Calendar 2025-2030 will be published in the coming days.
FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format
Based on a thorough review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience, the FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32. The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams.
For the full FIFA media release click here.