This October, FIFA confirmed that the top women’s football clubs from across the globe will compete to win the first ever Women’s Club World Cup in January of 2028. The competition, which has already been established for two decades in the men’s game, will offer the opportunity to see the best women’s football clubs across the globe vying against one another for international glory.
The Club World Cup
The FIFA men’s Club World Cup was first hosted in 2000 and hosted its 21st edition in the summer of 2025. Although the tournament used to include seven teams competing annually, FIFA dramatically restructured the tournament starting in 2025 to now feature 32 teams competing against one another every four years. The format for the women’s tournament will be falling between the two precedents set by the men’s competition, with Fifa announcing that the women’s cup will feature 19 clubs from across the globe. The competition will include a six team play-in stage, a 16 team group stage, and an eight team knock-out stage.
USA to Host
After hosting the men’s World Cup last summer, as well as the Men’s Club World Cup in 2025, FIFA has selected the USA to host the inaugural event. The US is also set to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup alongside Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
In addition to the existing infrastructure to host major international tournaments, FIFA officials have stated another major factor in this decision was the well-established audience for women’s football in the US. The USA women’s national team is the most decorated international women’s football team of all time, and the team’s appearances in the 1999 and 2015 world cup finals breaking the US records for the most viewed football broadcasts of all time, across the men and women’s games. Beyond the national team, the US is also home to the premiere international women’s football league, the NWSL, which incorporates 16 teams in 13 states (plus Washington DC). You can anticipate that these fan bases will be eager for the chance to see home town heroes potentially compete to be crowned international champions.
Qualifying Clubs
The makeup of the 19 qualifying clubs breaks down to three clubs from the Asian, African, North American and South American Leagues, and six teams from Europe’s top leagues. Two teams from Europe and one team from each of the other five continents have already secured their spots to compete in 2028. These teams include Arsenal (England), Barcelona (Spain), Club America Femenil (Mexico), Corinthians (Brazil), Gotham (USA), Nargohyang (North Korea), and Wuhan Jiangda (China) set to play.
What’s to Come
For fans excited for this inaugural international women’s tournament, there are still plenty of upcoming updates to keep your eye out for. Over the course of the next few months, the remaining dozen teams will have a chance to seal their spot in the competition, adding extra motivation for teams looking to climb their league tables.
Additionally, keep on the lookout for the confirmation of which US cities will be picked to host competition. While both the 2025 and 2026 FIFA men’s tournaments were hosted across 11 cities in the US, the women’s Club World Cup will likely take place in a more concentrated number of locations, due to the smaller number of teams and shorter number of matches. LA and San Diego are reportedly already being favored to host the competition, with the cities primed to host due to mild January temperatures and existing preparations to host international tournaments in the lead up to the 2028 summer Olympics.
The tournament will also be another test of FIFA’s commitment to closing the gender pay disparity between its men and women’s tournaments. Although FIFA’s controversial president, Gianni Infantino, pledged in 2023 that the organization was seeking to improve prize parity between the men and women’s world cups by next summer, this goal has already been missed for the 2027 women’s World Cup. With vocal advocates against gender pay disparities in football across the globe, and especially within the US, this issue will likely continue to garner attention in the lead up to the 2028 tournament.
Nevertheless, the addition of the women’s Club World Cup is significant news for women’s football and we can all eagerly anticipate some fierce competition come January 2028. Football fans should be sure to keep an eye out for the developments that are set to continue rolling in over the next year in the lead up to the competition.