2024 FIFA Series
International football competition
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The 2024 FIFA Series was an invitational football tournament promoted by FIFA as part of the inaugural FIFA Series. The tournament was formed as an initiative to aid the development of national association football teams through international friendly matches. The competition had two parts: five friendlies and one final championship match. It involved men's national teams from different continental confederations and took place across five host countries from 21 to 26 March 2024.[1][2] Croatia defeated Egypt 4–2 in the final match, becoming the tournament's first champions.[3][4]
Azerbaijan
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
Sri Lanka
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Algeria Azerbaijan Egypt Saudi Arabia Sri Lanka |
| Dates | 21–26 March |
| Teams | 24 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venues | 9 (in 7 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Croatia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 68 (2.83 per match) |
| Attendance | 197,990 (8,250 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Yassine Benzia Tieri-Teddy Godame Mamadou Kané Morlaye Sylla(3 goals each) |
2026 → | |
Background
The project was first announced as a FIFA initiative in December 2022 under the name "FIFA World Series",[5] and later confirmed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino on 16 March 2023 following his re-election to the post during the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda.[6] The competition will bring together men's national teams from its six confederations in a series of friendly matches during the FIFA match window in March of every even-numbered year.[7] The matches are 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 intended to provide member associations with additional commercial opportunities and exposure.[1]
The 2024 edition acted as a pilot phase for the project and had two parts: five friendlies and one final championship match.[1][8] In each series apart from Egypt (which was a late addition), all inter-confederation fixtures were the first international meeting between the sides.[9] The winners of the final championship match were awarded gold medals and the ACUD Cup Trophy after the tournament.[10][11]
Participating teams
The following teams participated in the 2024 event.
| Series | Team | Confederation | FIFA Rankings February 2024[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | Algeria | CAF | 43 |
 Andorra | UEFA | 164 | |
 Bolivia | CONMEBOL | 86 | |
 South Africa | CAF | 58 | |
| Azerbaijan |  Azerbaijan | UEFA | 113 |
 Bulgaria | UEFA | 83 | |
 Mongolia | AFC | 190 | |
 Tanzania | CAF | 119 | |
| Egypt | Croatia | UEFA | 10 |
 Egypt | CAF | 36 | |
 New Zealand | OFC | 103 | |
 Tunisia | CAF | 41 | |
| Saudi Arabia A |  Cambodia | AFC | 179 |
 Cape Verde | CAF | 65 | |
 Equatorial Guinea | CAF | 79 | |
 Guyana | CONCACAF | 157 | |
| Saudi Arabia B |  Bermuda | CONCACAF | 171 |
 Brunei | AFC | 194 | |
| Guinea | CAF | 76 | |
 Vanuatu | OFC | 170 | |
| Sri Lanka |  Bhutan | AFC | 184 |
| Central African Republic | CAF | 129 | |
 Papua New Guinea | OFC | 165 | |
 Sri Lanka | AFC | 204 |
By confederation
Venues
| Country | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | Algiers | Nelson Mandela Stadium | 40,784 |
| Annaba | 19 May 1956 Stadium | 56,000 | |
| Azerbaijan | Baku | Dalga Arena | 6,500 |
| Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium | 31,200 | ||
| Egypt | Cairo | Cairo International Stadium | 75,000 |
| New Administrative Capital | Misr Stadium | 93,940 | |
| Saudi Arabia | Jeddah | King Abdullah Sports City | 62,345 |
| Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City | 27,000 | ||
| Sri Lanka | Colombo | Colombo Racecourse | 10,000 |
Series
The first five series were organized as international friendlies while the last series in Egypt featured a knockout format, with winners determined by a penalty shoot-out following a tie.[1][8]
All times are local.[13][14] Each team's confederation is indicated in brackets.
Algeria
The FIFA Series: Algeria took place in Annaba and Algiers from 21 to 26 March 2024, and involved the hosts Algeria (CAF), Andorra (UEFA), Bolivia (CONMEBOL) and South Africa (CAF).[15][16] Andorra entered the series as a replacement for Albania, which had originally been invited but preferred to play friendlies in Europe, considering them better preparation ahead of UEFA Euro 2024.[17][18]
Initially, the series was expected to be played in a different format, with semi-finals to be played in Oran and Annaba and the finals to be played in Algiers.[19]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 |
| 2 | Bolivia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | South Africa |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Andorra |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 |
| Andorra | 1–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
R. Fernández  5' |
Report | Mokwana 25' |
Azerbaijan
The FIFA Series: Azerbaijan took place in Baku on 22 and 25 March 2024, and involved the hosts Azerbaijan (UEFA), Bulgaria (UEFA), Mongolia (AFC) and Tanzania (CAF).[24][25][26][27]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgaria |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| 2 | Azerbaijan (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Tanzania |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
| 4 | Mongolia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
| Azerbaijan | 1–0 | Mongolia |
|---|---|---|
| Mustafazadə 90+1' |
Report |
| Azerbaijan | 1–1 | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Qurbanlı 87' |
Report | Krastev 59' |
Egypt (ACUD Cup)
The FIFA Series: Egypt, also known as the ACUD International Football Cup, took place in Cairo and the New Administrative Capital on 22, 23 and 26 March 2024, and involved the hosts Egypt (CAF), Croatia (UEFA), New Zealand (OFC) and Tunisia (CAF).[30]
The tournament was originally not part of the FIFA Series, but a separate cup event called the Winsunited Cup (W Cup).[31] It was scheduled to be played in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[32] However, due to sponsorship issues, on 14 March 2024 the tournament was moved to Egypt,[33][34] and became part of the FIFA Series.[35]
Croatia won the tournament following a 4–2 victory over the hosts Egypt in the final championship match.[36]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 22 March – New Administrative Capital | ||||||
| Egypt | 1 | |||||
| 26 March – New Administrative Capital | ||||||
| New Zealand | 0 | |||||
| Egypt | 2 | |||||
| 23 March – Cairo | ||||||
| Croatia | 4 | |||||
| Tunisia | 0 (4) | |||||
| Croatia (p) | 0 (5) | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 26 March – Cairo | ||||||
| New Zealand | 0 (2) | |||||
| Tunisia (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
Semi-finals
| Egypt | 1–0 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Mohamed 29' (pen.) |
Report |
Third place play-off
Final
Saudi Arabia A
The FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia A took place in Jeddah from 21 to 26 March 2024, and involved Cambodia (AFC), Cape Verde (CAF), Equatorial Guinea (CAF) and Guyana (CONCACAF).[37][38][39]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Verde |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 6 |
| 2 | Guyana |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 |
| 3 | Equatorial Guinea |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | Cambodia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
| Cape Verde | 1–0 | Guyana |
|---|---|---|
| Mendes 2' |
Report |
| Cape Verde | 1–0 | Equatorial Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| Cabral 64' |
Report |
Saudi Arabia B
The FIFA Series: Saudi Arabia B took place in Jeddah from 21 to 26 March 2024, and involved Bermuda (CONCACAF), Brunei (AFC), Guinea (CAF) and Vanuatu (OFC).[38]
Initially Curaçao was also expected to participate, but they were eventually replaced by Bermuda.[44]
| Bermuda | 2–0 | Brunei |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Sri Lanka
The FIFA Series: Sri Lanka took place in Colombo on 22 and 25 March 2024, and involved the hosts Sri Lanka (AFC), Bhutan (AFC), Central African Republic (CAF) and Papua New Guinea (OFC).[49][50][51][52]
The tournament acted as a successor to the 2021 Four Nations Football Tournament, also held at the same venue.[53]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central African Republic |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 6 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka (H) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 |
| 3 | Papua New Guinea |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
| 4 | Bhutan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 |
| Central African Republic | 4–0 | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Summary
Goalscorers
There were 68 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 2.83 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Yacine Brahimi- Amine Gouiri
- Aïssa Mandi
Ricard Fernández
Bəhlul Mustafazadə- Musa Qurbanlı
Jai Bean- Djair Parfitt-Williams
- Aundè Todd
Carmelo Algarañaz- José Sagredo
- Ramiro Vaca
Hakeme Yazid Said- Nur Ikhwan Othman
- Syafiq Safiuddin Shariff
Kiril Despodov- Filip Krastev
Sieng Chanthea
Jovane Cabral- Ryan Mendes
Hamissou Dangabo- Trésor Toropité
- Christian-Theodor Yawanendji-Malipangou
Andrej Kramarić- Lovro Majer
- Bruno Petković
- Nikola Vlašić
Mohamed Abdelmonem- Mostafa Mohamed
- Ramy Rabia
Joanet- Luis Nlavo
Ousmane Camara- Mohamed Bangoura
- Jules Keita
Ryan Khedoo- Leo-Orion Lovell
Elias Mokwana- Iqraam Rayners
Dillon De Silva- Oliver Kelaart
Kelvin John- Novatus Miroshi
- Abdul Sopu
Bong Kalo- Joe Moses