Pakistan women's football team's group for FIFA Series announced

KARACHI: The Pakistan women's football team has been slotted into the Ivory Coast (CAF) group for the FIFA Series 2026, the apex football governing body announced on Monday.

According to the details, the national team will play their matches in Ivory Coast and will square off against the host nation, as well as Mauritania and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the FIFA Series 2026.

Notably, the match schedule for the series will be announced in due course.

The development came a month after the Pakistan women's football team was included in the upcoming FIFA Series, marking a significant milestone in the development of sport in the country, as the participation would help them gain international exposure.

"Inclusion in the FIFA series is a recognition of the growing development of women's football in Pakistan. It is a new era for the Pakistan women's football team," the PFF said in a statement.

"The FIFA series will allow players to play at the international level."

For the unversed, the FIFA series will be played in March-April next year and will commence in Brazil, Ivory Coast and Thailand.

Pakistan women's football team's inclusion in the FIFA series came in the backdrop of the meeting between PFF President Mohsen Gilani and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino on the sidelines of the Club World Cup in June this year.

During the meeting, the development of women's football in the country, while the men's team's participation in the FIFA series had come under discussion.

"We touched upon key topics such as the development of the women's football team and the men's team potentially participating in next year's FIFA Series," Infantino was quoted as saying.

"President Gilani brings significant experience and football management know-how to the role, and I look forward to seeing our game take positive strides under his leadership," he added.