FIFA International Match Calendar

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The FIFA International Match Calendar (sometimes abbreviated as the FIFA Calendar) is an outline agreement between FIFA, the six continental football confederations, the European Club Association, and FIFPro,[1] which sets out which dates can be used for "official" and "friendly" international matches. Individual periods of these dates are commonly referred to as "international breaks".

The current dates are within five windows: in March, May or June, August or September, October, and November. The match calendar also determines when international competitions such as the AFC Asian Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, Copa América, CONCACAF Gold Cup, OFC Nations CupUEFA European Championship, FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics can take place.

Official matches have a release period of four days, which means that players can take up to four days away from club duties to partake in national team duties. If a player participates in an official match on a different continent from his or her club's, the release period is five days. Friendly matches are deemed less important and the release period is 48 hours.[2]

FIFA insist that official and friendly matches take precedence over domestic matches. However, they state that international friendlies that take place outside the designated dates do not.[2]

Upcoming match windows[edit]

Men's International Match Calendar[edit]

Dates[3] Matches or tournaments
18–26 March 2024 2
3–11 June 2024 2 (Except UEFA)
14 June – 14 July 2024 UEFA Euro 2024
15–30 June 2024 2024 OFC Nations Cup
20 June – 14 July 2024 2024 Copa América
24 July – 9 August 2024 Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics
2–10 September 2024 2
7–15 October 2024 2
11–19 November 2024 2
17–25 March 2025 2
2–10 June 2025 2
June – July 2025 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2025 Africa Cup of Nations
2025 FIFA Club World Cup
1–9 September 2025 2
6–14 October 2025 2
10–18 November 2025 2
23–31 March 2026 2
1–9 June 2026 2
11 June – 19 July 2026 2026 FIFA World Cup
21 September – 6 October 2026 4
9–17 November 2026 2
January 2027 2027 AFC Asian Cup
22–30 March 2027 2
7–15 June 2027 2

Women's International Match Calendar[edit]

The women's international match calendar sets out which dates can be used for "official" and "friendly" women's international matches.

The current dates are within six windows: in February or March, April, June or July, September, October, and November.[4]

Dates[4] Window type[a] Number of matches
1–9 April 2024 Type I 2
27 May – 4 June 2024 Type I 2
8–16 July 2024 Type I 2
25 July – 10 August 2024 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
21–30 October 2024 Type I or II (except UEFA) 2 or 3
25 November – 7 December 2024 Type I or III (only AFC) 2 or 4
17–26 February 2025 Type II 3
31 March – 8 April 2025 Type I 2
26 May – 3 June 2025 Type I 2
June/July 2025[b] Type I or II (except UEFA) or
III (only AFC)
2 or 3 or 4
23 June – 3 August 2025 Blocked for finals of the CONMEBOL championship
2–27 July 2025 UEFA Women's Euro 2025
20–29 October 2025 Type I or II (except UEFA) 2 or 3
24 November – 2 December 2025 Type I 2

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Players are released to national associations from Monday to either Tuesday night (Type I), Wednesday night (Type II), or Saturday night (Type III) of the following week.
  2. ^ Window start to be aligned with the release period for the 2025 Copa América Femenina and UEFA Women's Euro 2025

References[edit]

  1. ^ "International match calendar – major step made towards final agreement". FIFA.com. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Release of players for national association representative matches in accordance with the Coordinated International Match Calendar" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Men's International Match Calendar 2023-2030" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Women's International Match Calendar 2024-2025" (PDF). FIFA. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

External links[edit]