ZURICH: Egypt has been announced as a FIFA Series host with this year’s pilot phase expanded to an additional four teams.

With Cairo as the host city, Croatia, Egypt, Tunisia and New Zealand will compete in international friendlies during the 22-26 March 2024 window.

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, organisers will be testing different formats. For example, the FIFA Series Egypt will see the winners of the first match facing each other in their second respective matches.

With the introduction of the FIFA Series: Egypt, the pilot edition will feature 24 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) playing in five locations across three continents. Nations from all six confederations will participate.

Algeria, Azerbaijan, Saudia Arabia (x2), and Sri Lanka had already been announced as FIFA Series hosts for 2024. The matches – which feature nine CAF nations, five AFC members, four UEFA nations, three OFC countries, two Concacaf member associations, and one CONMEBOL country – serve as platforms to unlock technical development opportunities previously unavailable to many of the participating MAs.

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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