FIFA International Match Calendar
TheFIFA International Match Calendar(sometimes abbreviated as theFIFA Calendar) is an outline agreement betweenFIFA,the six continental football confederations, theEuropean Club Association,andFIFPro,[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 theAFC Asian Cup,Africa Cup of Nations,Copa América,CONCACAF Gold Cup,OFC Nations Cup,UEFA European Championship,FIFA World Cupand theSummer Olympicscan 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 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| 14 June – 6 July 2025 | 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 1–9 September 2025 | 2 |
| 6–14 October 2025 | 2 |
| 10–18 November 2025 | 2 |
| 21 December 2025 – 18 January 2026 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 25 July – 10 August 2024 | Women's Olympic Football Tournament | |
| 21–30 October 2024 | Type I or II (exceptUEFA) | 2 or 3 |
| 25 November – 7 December 2024 | Type I or III (onlyAFC) | 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 (exceptUEFA) or III (onlyAFC) |
2 or 3 or 4 |
| 23 June – 3 August 2025 | Blocked for finals of theCONMEBOLchampionship | |
| 2–27 July 2025 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 | |
| 5–26 July 2025 | 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations | |
| 20–29 October 2025 | Type I or II (exceptUEFA) | 2 or 3 |
| 24 November – 2 December 2025 | Type I | 2 |
Notes[edit]
- ^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.
- ^Window start to be aligned with the release period for the2025 Copa América FemeninaandUEFA Women's Euro 2025
References[edit]
- ^"International match calendar – major step made towards final agreement".FIFA.com. 5 March 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2012.Retrieved29 August2012.
- ^ab"Release of players for national association representative matches in accordance with the Coordinated International Match Calendar"(PDF).FIFA.com. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 15 September 2007.Retrieved29 August2012.
- ^"Men's International Match Calendar 2023-2030"(PDF).FIFA.Retrieved12 June2024.
- ^ab"Women's International Match Calendar 2024-2025"(PDF).FIFA.18 January 2024.Retrieved27 January2024.
