Arsène Wenger: FIFA U-15 World Cup will give every nation a chance to test itself

FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger believes the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival will provide young players around the world with a unique opportunity to test themselves against different football cultures.

The first edition of the tournament is scheduled to take place in Azerbaijan from 24 to 30 October 2026, with the competition open to all FIFA Member Associations regardless of their footballing size or tradition.

Wenger said the tournament reflects the broader ambition of bringing young players from across the world together while giving them more meaningful competitive experiences.

“Well, that’s the beauty of a tournament. I believe as well, it was a dream to have everybody in the world together,” Wenger said.

“And I think, of course, when you compete in football, you want to know how good you are. The only way to know how good you are is to give everybody a chance to do that and compete with everybody else.”

The Frenchman also believes the tournament could encourage Member Associations to place greater emphasis on youth development and education.

“I believe it will [also] be an encouragement for all the MAs to realise that education is a very important part of success and that will encourage them to develop their youth even more,” he said.

Wenger described the event as an important human experience beyond the football itself, highlighting FIFA’s ambition to use the tournament to promote interaction between participants from different countries.

“We always say at FIFA that football unites the world, but the ingredients for doing that are certainly at youth level, and to get the whole world together,” he said.

“That’s why we [also] want to organise, maybe, communication moments during this tournament, where people know each other and communicate with each other. That’s why it’s a fantastic experience, and I’m very excited about it.”

The tournament will use an 8v8 format, with matches consisting of two 20-minute halves. Wenger believes the format will increase the number of meaningful game situations young players experience while helping narrow the development gap between smaller and larger football nations.

“I’m convinced that the more you have experiences with the ball, the more you experience game situations the better it is for your development,” Wenger explained.

“It can reduce a bit the difference between the smaller countries and the bigger countries. It can allow you, as well, to play more games.”

Under the tournament format, teams will compete in an initial qualification phase before being placed into different performance tiers for the second stage. This will ensure that teams continue playing competitive matches throughout the tournament.

Wenger believes this structure will create opportunities for teams of different levels to face each other before competing against sides of a similar standard.

“8 against 8, 2×20 minutes, you can play one game in the morning, one game in the afternoon and get everybody to [experience] that,” he said.

“It’s a format that I’m keen to see, but [it] can also allow us to play the smaller countries against the bigger countries, and after, in the second part of the competition, play the smaller [countries] against each other.”

The inaugural boys’ tournament in Azerbaijan will be followed by the first girls’ edition in 2027, with FIFA planning to stage both competitions annually from 2028.

For Wenger, the new tournament represents another avenue for FIFA to expand international youth football and give more young players the chance to experience global competition.

“So, it will be a great experience to see and overall, it will be a very exciting tournament,” he added.