Fifa has officially confirmed that the United States will stage the inaugural Women's Club World Cup in January 2028. Scheduled to take place from 5 to 30 January 2028, the 19-team tournament is modeled on the revamped men's Club World Cup and is set to be held every four years. English side Arsenal are among seven clubs that have already secured their places in the competition, with 12 more participants to be decided at a later stage.
Alongside Arsenal, the opening group of confirmed sides features Barcelona, Gotham, Club America, Corinthians, Naegohyang, and Wuhan Jiangda. The remaining spots will be distributed globally: six additional European clubs will be chosen from Uefa, while the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), Concacaf (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), and Conmebol (South America) will each be awarded three spots, with one representative coming from the OFC (Oceania).
Awarding the event to the United States builds on the nation's growing tournament profile, which includes hosting the 2025 men's Club World Cup and co-hosting this summer's men's World Cup with Canada and Mexico, as well as an upcoming role co-hosting the 2031 Women's World Cup with Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica. Fifa's chief women's football officer Sarai Bareman noted that the US was the standout choice due to "recent excellence in staging top Fifa tournaments, combined with the significant interest in women's football there plus its elite sporting infrastructure." Bareman added: "These seven clubs, and a dozen more, will come together to show the strength and depth of women's club football to a global audience. They will have the opportunity to tell their story, expand their fanbase and represent their club on the world stage. They have thoroughly earned this opportunity to be part of history in the United States."
However, the new tournament arrives amid debate over the football calendar, with the Women's Super League having warned earlier this year that the scheduling of the Club World Cup could be "catastrophic." The January 2028 competition marks the second mid-season tournament introduced for women's clubs by Fifa in recent years, coming after the inaugural Champions Cup, which took place in February and was won by Arsenal.