ZURICH: An online meeting of FIFA Council has confirmed dates and qualification balance for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The finals kick off on June 24 and conclude on July 25.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “This historic tournament will have a massive impact not only in South America, but around the whole world, taking the women’s game to the next level in terms of participation and popularity.”

The direct slot allocation, which accounts for 29 of the 32 slots, will be as follows:

  • AFC: six direct slots
  • CAF: four direct slots
  • Concacaf: four direct slots
  • CONMEBOL: three direct slots, with host country Brazil qualifying automatically and their slot being taken directly from the quota allocated to CONMEBOL
  • OFC: one direct slot
  • UEFA: 11 direct slots

The three remaining slots will be decided through a ten-team play-off tournament comprising two phases, with the following slot allocation:

  • Two play-off slots for the AFC
  • Two play-off slots for CAF
  • Two play-off slots for Concacaf (both slots to qualify automatically for the second phase based on sporting performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ play-off tournament)
  • Two play-off slots for CONMEBOL (top-ranked team according to the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking to qualify automatically for the second phase because of Brazil qualifying as hosts for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027)
  • One play-off slot for the OFC
  • One play-off slot for UEFA (to qualify automatically for the second phase based on sporting performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 play-off tournament)

The first phase of the play-off tournament will take place in November-December 2026 in a centralised venue featuring six teams ranked based on the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking prior to the play-off draw.

The top two teams will qualify for the final play-off phase to be played in a centralised location in February 2027, in which they will be joined by two teams from Concacaf, one from CONMEBOL and one from UEFA.

The six teams will be drawn into three paths, with a direct knockout match to determine the final three teams qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. Teams from the same confederation would not be permitted to be drawn in the same pathway.

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