The 2024 FIFA Series was the inaugural edition of the

FIFA Series The FIFA Series, originally known as FIFA World Series, is a biennial invitational football competition promoted by FIFA that features international friendlies between national teams from different confederations, taking place in March of eve ...

, an invitational

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

competition promoted by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

that features

friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

between national teams from different continental confederations. The inaugural edition featured six different series that took place across five host countries from 21 to 26 March 2024.

Background

The friendly competition was first announced as a FIFA initiative in December 2022 under the name "FIFA World Series", and later confirmed by FIFA President

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...

on 16 March 2023 following his re-election to the post during the

73rd FIFA Congress The 73rd FIFA Congress was held in BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, on 16 March 2023. 2023 presidential election On 31 March 2022, during the 72nd FIFA Congress in Doha, incumbent FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced his candidacy for a third t ...

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

, Rwanda. The competition will bring together men's national teams from its six confederations in a series of friendly tournaments during the FIFA match window in March of every even-numbered year. The competition is intended to provide FIFA's member associations with "key playing opportunities" by allowing them to more regularly play teams from other confederations which they would otherwise not face, allowing for greater technical development opportunities. It is also intended to provide member associations with additional commercial opportunities and exposure. The 2024 edition acted as a pilot phase for the competition. In each series apart from Egypt (which was a late addition), all inter-confederation fixtures were the first international meeting between the sides.

Participating teams

The following teams participated in the 2024 event.

By confederation

Venues

Series

The series were organized as international friendlies. Only the Egypt series featured a knockout format, with winners determined by a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

following a tie. All times are local. Each team's confederation is indicated in brackets.

Algeria

The FIFA Series: Algeria took place in

Annaba Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...

and

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

from 21 to 26 March 2024, and involved the hosts

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

(CAF),

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

(UEFA),

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

(CONMEBOL) and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(CAF). Initially, the tournament was expected to be played in a different format, with semi-finals to be played in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

and Annaba and the finals to be played in Algiers.

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

was also expected to participate but eventually declined to instead play friendlies in Europe and was replaced by Andorra. ----

Azerbaijan

The FIFA Series: Azerbaijan took place in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

on 22 and 25 March 2024, and involved the hosts

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

(UEFA),

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(UEFA),

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

(AFC) and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

(CAF). ----

Egypt (ACUD Cup)

The FIFA Series: Egypt, also known as the ACUD International Football Cup, took place in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and the

New Administrative Capital New Administrative Capital (NAC) () is a New Urban Communities Authority, new urban community east of New Cairo in Cairo Governorate, Egypt and a satellite city of Cairo. As of May 2023, 14 ministries and government entities have been relocated ...

on 22, 23 and 26 March 2024, and involved the hosts

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(CAF),

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

(UEFA),

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(OFC) and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

(CAF). The tournament was originally not part of the FIFA Series, but a separate cup event called the Winsunited Cup (W Cup). It was scheduled to be played in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates. However, due to sponsorship issues, on 14 March 2024 the tournament was moved to Egypt, and became part of the FIFA Series. Croatia won the tournament following a 4–2 victory over the hosts Egypt in the final.

Bracket

Semi-finals

----

Third place play-off

Final

Saudi Arabia A

The FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia A took place in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

from 21 to 26 March 2024, and involved

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

(AFC),

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

(CAF),

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

(CAF) and

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

(CONCACAF). ----

Saudi Arabia B

The FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia B took place in

from 21 to 26 March 2024, and involved

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

(CONCACAF),

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

(AFC),

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

(CAF) and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

(OFC). Initially

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

was also expected to participate, but they were eventually replaced by Bermuda. ----

Sri Lanka

The FIFA Series: Sri Lanka took place in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

on 22 and 25 March 2024, and involved the hosts

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(AFC),

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

(AFC),

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

(CAF) and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

(OFC). The tournament acted as a successor to the 2021 Four Nations Football Tournament, also held at the same venue. ----

Goalscorers

References

External links

FIFA Series fixtures
at FIFA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:FIFA Series, 2024

Series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

March 2024 sports events in Asia March 2024 sports events in Africa March 2024 sports events in Europe International association football competitions hosted by Algeria International association football competitions hosted by Azerbaijan International association football competitions hosted by Egypt International association football competitions hosted by Saudi Arabia International association football competitions hosted by Sri Lanka