Twenty nations, two World Cups, one stage
NewsThe draw in Atlanta on Friday sets the path to October for the 2026 IFCPF Men's and Women's World Cups.
The largest Women's World Cup in the sport's history will begin to take shape on Friday, when eight nations spanning six continents are drawn into two groups and learn their path through Atlanta.
The draw, which will also set the 12-team men's competition, takes place at 10:00am ET at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Centre — the venue that will host both tournaments in October — and will be streamed live on the IFCPF YouTube channel.
The two World Cups will be staged in a single host city across the same window, 56 matches in total, all broadcast live to a global audience.
Watch live — Friday 17 July
09:00 Bogotá · 10:00 Atlanta, Santiago · 11:00 São Paulo · 15:00 London, Dublin · 16:00 Amsterdam, Madrid · 17:00 Nairobi · 23:00 Tokyo · 00:00 Sydney (Saturday)
The women's tournament
Eight nations will contest two groups of four across 20 matches, growing the field from the five teams that competed at the last edition in 2024. Kenya, Colombia and Finland will appear at a Women's World Cup for the first time, joining the USA, Australia, Japan and Ireland, and the Netherlands, who return to the competition for the first time since 2022.
What makes that field remarkable is not simply its size, but its spread. The eight teams come from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and South America — six continents represented in a competition of eight, a wider geographic reach than the 12-team men's tournament running alongside it. For a competition that did not exist in any formal sense a decade ago, the growth is not incremental, it is structural.
Australia arrive in Atlanta as reigning world champions, having defeated the USA in the 2024 final, and Friday's draw will determine who stands between them and a title defence. The permutations are genuinely open: the draw could pit Kenya against the holders in their first World Cup match, place two debutant nations in the same group, or load one side of the tournament with every team that has previously reached a final. None of it is known until the last ball comes out of the pot.
The men's tournament
The Men's World Cup brings together 12 nations across three groups of four and 36 matches. Indonesia will make their World Cup debut, months after hosting the 2025 IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championship, while Scotland arrive as reigning IFCPF Men's World Championships winners and the USA host carrying the 2025 IFCPF Copa América title.
Nine of the 12 teams competed at the last World Cup in Salou. Indonesia, Chile and Scotland are new to the field — three changes in a 12-team tournament, and a useful measure of a sport in which the competitive picture continues to shift rather than settle.
How the draw works
In the men's competition, 12 teams have been seeded into four pots of three according to the IFCPF World Ranking and will be drawn into three groups of four — Groups A, B and C. The USA, as hosts, are automatically placed in Group A, position one.
In the women's competition, eight teams have been seeded into four pots of two and will be drawn into two groups of four — Groups A and B. The USA, again as hosts, take position one in Group A.
Once the pots are emptied, the groups are set. Every team will know its opponents and its route through the tournament.
The 2026 IFCPF Men's and Women's World Cups run from 14 to 24 October in Atlanta, USA: 20 nations, six continents and 56 matches, live to the world.
"This is CP Football in 2026: 20 nations, two World Cups and one stage, including the largest women's competition our sport has ever staged," said IFCPF CEO Ashley Hammond.
"Eight women's teams from six continents tell a powerful story about where this game is going. Every nation coming to Atlanta has earned its place in this moment. On Friday, they find out the path ahead."
The 2026 IFCPF Men's and Women's World Cup Draw streams live on Friday 17 July at 10:00am ET on the IFCPF YouTube channel.