Qatar eyes Women's Club World Cup despite not having Fifa-ranked national team
The Gulf State is reportedly interested in hosting football's latest club competition, which is due to take place between January 5 and 30, 2028, after it was announced by FIFA last month
Qatar is in talks to stage the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup, despite not having a FIFA-ranked ladies national team.
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The Gulf State is reportedly interested in hosting football's latest club competition, which is due to take place between January 5 and 30, 2028, after it was announced by FIFA last month.
A formal bidding process for the tournament has yet to start, but eyebrows have been raised by a potential Qatar bid given the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights and its lack of history of women's football.
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Their national women's team played an initial burst of fixtures after being formed in 2009 but has not played an official match in 12 years.
Despite this, Qatar would be seen as a favourite to host the landmark tournament, given its close relationship with FIFA, ready-made stadiums and warm winter climate.
If Qatar does officially put its hat in the ring, it would be the latest in a long line of tournament bids after hosting the 2022 World Cup finals.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup was held in Al-Rayyan last month, while the second edition of the men’s Finals between the European champions Spain and the South American champions Argentina will take place in Doha in March.
Qatar had also expressed an interest in staging the men's Club World Cup in 2029, but were told by FIFA that the tournament will take place during the northern hemisphere summer.
However, given the dates of the Women’s Club World Cup, it seems inevitable it will take place somewhere in the Gulf.
The tournament, which will take place every four years, is already expected to cause major disruption to domestic seasons, including in Europe.
There will be no clash with the Champions League but many domestic European leagues will be forced to introduce a longer winter break.
The Australian, Mexican and Japanese leagues are also likely to be impacted.
Fifa has yet to determine its entry criteria, but 16 teams will feature including at least from Europe and two each from Asia, Africa, South America and North America.
A club from each of those five confederations and one from Oceania will play in a qualifying tournament to determine the final three entrants.