Story byFIFA confirms dates for Women’s Club World Cup in January 2028Leon Imber and Charlotte HarpurWed, December 17, 2025 at 2:46 PM UTC·3 min readThe inaugural Women’s Club World Cup will take place in January 2028 in the middle of the European domestic football season, FIFA confirmed on Wednesday. The 16-team tournament was initially due to be introduced in 2026, but was later delayed to 2028, after stakeholders in the women’s game told the global governing body more time was needed to get it right. The delay meant the first edition of the Women’s Club World Cup would be hosted in the same year as the Olympic Games, taking place in the United States between July 14-30. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFIFA said in a release that the decision to host the Club World Cup between January 5-30 was the result of “extensive consultations that yielded a broad consensus across stakeholders”. The selected dates typically fall right in the middle of Europe’s domestic football calendar. Meanwhile, for the typical calendar of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States, the dates would fall in their post-season break — the 2026 regular season begins on March 26, with the playoff final slated to take place on November 21. Since its proposal, the addition of a Women’s Club World Cup has raised questions about calendar congestion and player workload — especially for top players who feature for high-performing club teams and their international teams. NWSL commissioner told The Athletic last year “the players are getting squeezed”, adding that managing the women’s calendar in a way that maximises player safety “is something that must be solved”. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA report published earlier this month by FIFPro, the worldwide players’ union, found that on the other end of the spectrum, other players are being put “at risk of developmental challenges and injury” due to not having access to enough competitive games, and called for “league expansion and investment”. Alongside confirming the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup, the FIFA Council also introduced the Women’s Champions Cup.