ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s young footballers will face a demanding five-match qualification schedule in just three days at the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026, with FIFA confirming the fixtures for the tournament to be held in Azerbaijan.
Pakistan have been placed in Group AD alongside Cyprus, Gambia, Jordan, Nigeria and South Sudan and will open their campaign against Gambia on October 24 at 3:30pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST).
Pakistan have been drawn in Group AD alongside Cyprus, Gambia, Jordan, Nigeria and South Sudan for the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan.
The event will feature FIFA’s 191 member associations across 32 groups, with more than 900 matches scheduled from… pic.twitter.com/uzIRRwZALP
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) September 17, 2026
The Green Shirts will then face a hectic schedule on October 25, playing two matches on the same day. Pakistan will take on South Sudan at 1:45pm before meeting Cyprus at 8:30pm.
Pakistan will again play twice on October 26, facing Jordan at 12:30pm and Nigeria at 7:15pm PKT.
The schedule means Pakistan will complete all five qualification-stage matches within 72 hours, with double-headers on the second and third days of the group phase.
More than 3,000 participants expected
The FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival will feature players born in 2011 or 2012, with more than 3,000 young players, coaches and officials expected to participate.
Matches will be played on 68-metre by 47-metre pitches using full-size goals measuring 7.32 metres by 2.44 metres.
Historic FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026™ to unite the world in Azerbaijan 🙌
The inaugural edition of this FIFA youth tournament – open to boys’ teams, with a girls’ edition to follow in 2027 – offers FIFA Member Associations of all sizes the opportunity to participate in… pic.twitter.com/vucoErk7mj
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) September 18, 2026
The competition will be played across two stages. During the qualification phase from October 24 to 26, teams will compete in groups in a round-robin format, playing four or five matches.
The results will determine their placement in the tournament stage, where teams will be divided into six performance tiers. Each team will then play another four or five matches according to its tier.
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Unlike conventional knockout competitions, all participating teams will remain in action until the final matchday, ensuring every side receives an extended competitive programme.
Winners will be crowned in each of the six tiers, while the team finishing top of Tier A will be declared the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 champion.
🚨We’ve been drawn in Group AD alongside Cyprus, Gambia, Jordan, Nigeria and South Sudan #ShaheensAtTheWorldCup 🇵🇰🦅 pic.twitter.com/jnzHkeCJ6I
— Pakistan Football Federation (@TheRealPFF) September 17, 2026
FIFA used a pre-tournament ranking system to create balanced groups and competitive fixtures. The system considers senior national-team performances as well as recent youth-team participation and results, combining overall association strength with youth-development activity.
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Following the qualification stage, teams will have a rest day on October 27 before the tournament stage begins on October 28. The tier finals and closing ceremony will take place on October 30.
