The U17 World Cup will be held annually in Qatar until 2029. The Council of the World Football Association FIFA decided this with DFB President Bernd Neuendorf in a virtual meeting on Thursday. In addition, the U17 World Cup will be played in Morocco for the next five years starting in 2025.
Previously, both tournaments were held every two years. FIFA had already announced last year that the U17 World Cup would be played annually from 2025 and increased from 24 to 48 teams. In the future, 24 nations will take part in the tournament for female U17 teams.
“The use of the existing football infrastructure in the interests of tournament efficiency and sustainability” was the main focus when choosing the organizers, FIFA explained the decision. Qatar hosted the men’s World Cup in 2022. There was massive criticism of Qatar because of human rights violations and sportswashing.
The country has been working hard for years on a “sportswashing” campaign to polish up its own image. In addition to the 2022 World Cup, Formula 1 and tennis tournaments will also be held in the desert state.
