Egypt has been selected as a FIFA Series host, with this year’s pilot phase expanded to include an additional four teams.
Cairo will serve as the host city, where Croatia, Egypt, Tunisia, and New Zealand will participate in international friendlies during the window of March 22-26, 2024.
Following a decision taken by the FIFA Council in December 2022 – and in line with the Strategic Objectives for the Global Game: 2023-2027 – the FIFA Series are friendly matches that will be contested by national teams from different confederations, who do not normally have the opportunity to play each other.
The ultimate objective of the FIFA Series is to allow more international football interaction outside the traditional local footprint, making a concrete contribution to global football development.
2024’s edition is the pilot phase of the initiative, with future instalments planned to take place in the March international match window of even years.
In this initial stage, organizers will be trying out different formats. For instance, in the FIFA Series Egypt, the winners of the first match will face each other in their second respective matches.
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The pilot edition of the FIFA Series: Egypt will involve 24 FIFA Member Associations, MAs, playing in five locations across three continents. Nations from all six confederations will participate.
Already, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia (twice), and Sri Lanka had been announced as FIFA Series hosts for 2024.
The matches feature teams from various confederations, including nine from CAF, five from AFC, four from UEFA, three from OFC, two from Concacaf, and one from CONMEBOL. These games provide technical development opportunities for many participating Member Associations (MAs).
Here are the FIFA Series locations and the participating teams:
FIFA Series: Algeria
– Algeria (CAF)
– Andorra (UEFA
– Bolivia (CONMEBOL)
– South Africa (CAF)
FIFA Series: Azerbaijan
– Azerbaijan (UEFA)
– Bulgaria (UEFA)
– Mongolia (AFC)
– Tanzania (CAF)
FIFA Series: Egypt
– Croatia (UEFA)
– Egypt (CAF)
– Tunisia (CAF)
– New Zealand (OFC)
FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia A
– Cabo Verde (CAF)
– Cambodia (AFC)
– Equatorial Guinea (CAF)
– Guyana (Concacaf)
FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia B
– Bermuda (Concacaf)
– Brunei Darussalam (AFC)
– Guinea (CAF)
– Vanuatu (OFC)
FIFA Series: Sri Lanka
– Bhutan (AFC)
– Central African Republic (CAF)
– Papua New Guinea (OFC)
– Sri Lanka (AFC)
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