FIFA has officially confirmed that the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 will take place from 17 October to 7 November 2026, www.aclsports.com reports.
The announcement, made at the FIFA Council on Thursday, 19 March, will see Morocco host the tournament for the second time as part of its unprecedented five-year hosting run, which began in 2025 and will continue through to 2029.
North Korea claimed the 2025 title in Rabat, defeating Netherlands 3–0 in the final to secure a record fourth crown, underlining their dominance at this level.
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos—bronze medallists at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 in India—were knocked out 4–0 in the Round of 16 by Italy in the 2025 edition.
Morocco qualifies automatically as hosts, while the remaining slots will be distributed across the confederations: Africa and Europe will each have five teams; Asia, North and Central America, and South America will each send four; while Oceania will be represented by two nations.
Qualification for the tournament will take place across continental competitions scheduled in key windows throughout 2026.
Africa’s campaign, organised by CAF, will begin with the opening round from 10 to 19 April, followed by the final phase from 3 to 12 July, where four teams will qualify alongside the host nation.
North and Central America will host the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship from 16 to 22 March, while South America’s CONMEBOL South American U-17 Women’s Championship will run from 22 April to 16 May.
Asia’s representatives will emerge from the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup (1–17 May), while Europe’s qualification will be decided at the UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship (4–17 May).
With the dates confirmed, focus now moves to the continental campaigns, where teams across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe will clash for a spot at Morocco 2026.
