FIFA is trying something new. The first FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival runs Oct. 24-30 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with 189 boys' teams from all six confederations.
How it works
It's not a normal World Cup. Matches are 8v8 with two 20-minute halves, and each team brings 14 players born in 2011 or 2012.
Teams play four or five group games over the first three days. Their finish then places them in one of six tiers, A through F, for the knockout stage. Nobody is eliminated outright, so every team keeps playing all week, and the Tier A winner is champion.
Almost every game is at the Hövsan Competition Complex, which has 20 pitches running at once. The opening match and all six tier finals are at Baku Crystal Hall on Oct. 30. After the tournament, the complex becomes a youth academy.
Why it exists
FIFA says the goal is to give countries with few international opportunities meaningful games against different styles. Associations that rarely get their 14-year-olds out of their own region will play four or five foreign opponents in a week.
Where's the U.S.?
According to the tournament's entry list, the United States did not enter, so our class of 2011 won't be in Baku. Concacaf sends 34 teams, one of the biggest contingents, behind only AFC (45) and CAF (52).
A girls' edition is planned for 2027, with annual boys' and girls' tournaments from 2028.
