Concacaf to introduce new formats for region’s U-17 Men’s and Women’s Qualifiers | OneFootball

Miami, FL (Thursday, October 10, 2024) – Concacaf has today announced new formats for the Confederation’s U-17 Men’s and Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. The announcement follows FIFA’s confirmation earlier this year that it will increase the frequency of the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Both will become annual competitions with expanded participation to 48 and 24 teams, respectively.

Concacaf U-17 Men’s QualifiersThe new Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers will consist of a single round. The participating Concacaf Member Associations will be divided into eight groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants. After round-robin play, in which each team will play against each team in its group once, the group winners (eight teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The first edition of the Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between February 7 and 16, 2025. The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers official draw will take place on October 24 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, FL. Fans will be able to follow on the Confederation’s YouTube channel starting at 11 am ET. Concacaf U-17 Women’s QualifiersThe new Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers will consist of two rounds, with the four highest-ranked participating Concacaf Member Associations (based on the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Rankings) receiving a bye to the Final Round. For the Round One, the Member Associations ranked fifth and below will be split into six groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants. After round-robin play, the six group winners and the two best second-place finishers (eight teams in total) will advance to the Final Round, joining the four top-ranked teams (twelve in total). The Final Round will also be played in a group format, consisting of three groups of four teams each. After round-robin play, the three group winners and the best second-place finisher (four teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The first edition of the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between January 27 and February 1, 2025 (Round One) and March 31 and April 6, 2025 (Final Round).   The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers Round One official draw will take place on October 16 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, FL. Fans will be able to follow on the Confederation’s YouTube channel starting at 11 am ET.