The Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions, chaired by Aleksander Ceferin, met at the Home of FIFA in Zurich today, with the main focus falling on the FIFA World Cup kicking off in Russia on 14 June. With just a few months to go before the action starts, a great deal of work is going on behind the scenes to ensure that everything runs smoothly for all 32 participating teams, including the final selection of the Team Base Camps and matchday operations in the 11 Host Cities.
Important milestones have also been reached for the upcoming women’s tournaments this year in Uruguay and next year in France with the unveiling of the respective match schedules.
2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™: The Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions was presented with the latest developments in the preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, including an overview of the event’s 12 stadiums, the upcoming Team Workshop in Sochi (27-28 February) and the FIFA Congress (13 June).
As a result of feedback from the coaches who attended the Team Seminar held around the Final Draw, the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions has agreed to increase the number of players included in the release list from no more than 30 to up to 35. In addition, a release list may only be published by the FIFA general secretariat with the explicit permission of the respective participating member association. These amendments to article 44, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Regulations are still subject to approval by the FIFA Council at its next meeting, scheduled to be held in Bogota, Colombia, on 16 March.
As confirmed by the FIFA Council in January 2017, the deadline for the participating member associations to submit their release lists is 14 May 2018, while the submission of the final list of 23 players is due on 4 June 2018.
FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™: The match schedule for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 was presented to the members of the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions and is now available on FIFA.com. The tournament will take place in nine Host Cities – Grenoble, Le Havre, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Paris, Reims, Rennes and Valenciennes – from 7 June to 7 July 2019. The kick-off times are subject to change and will be finalised after the Official Draw.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018: The match schedule for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 has also been unveiled. The competition will take place in the Uruguayan cities of Colonia, Maldonado and Montevideo from 13 November to 1 December 2018. Further details are available on the event’s page on FIFA.com.