A closer look at FIFA's U-17 World Cup restructuring

On March 15, the FIFA Council, the apex decision-making body of the global football governing body, made a surprise announcement after its meeting. It declared that the men's and women's U-17 World Cups, which are currently held on a biennial basis, will be held annually starting in 2025. 

Moreover, both tournaments would be expanded, with the men's U-17 World Cup set to become a 48-team affair from the current 24 teams, while the women's version will see an expansion from 16 to 24 teams. Qatar and Morocco were handed the hosting rights for the first five editions of the refurbished men's and women's events, respectively.

The two-fold change to the events, i.e., their frequency and size, is sure to have a significant impact on how football at the U-17 level functions globally. For starters, the continental championships that serve as the qualifying events for the World Cups will undergo similar two-fold changes.

Take the AFC U-17 Asian Cup as an example. As per the current format, a team gets to play three – or even two or four, depending on the groupings and potential withdrawal – matches in the qualifying event for the continental tournament every two years.

Those who qualify manage to play three more group games, with the finalists playing a further three. The tournament's semifinalists qualify for the World Cup, as per the current format.

At the last men's U-17 World Cup, hosted by Indonesia last year, Uzbekistan were the best performing side from Asia, reaching the quarterfinals. The Uzbek side played a total of 12 matches as part of the two-year World Cup cycle: five at the World Cup, five at the Asian Cup and two at the Asian Cup qualification. 

On the other hand, Brunei and Mongolia, who bowed out at the U-17 Asian Cup qualifying phase, managed just two games as part of the entire biennial cycle.

In its "Increasing Global Competitiveness" report, released in May 2021 after a 14-month study on the youth football structure across the world, FIFA noted some of the anomalies in the current format of the U-17 World Cup, which may have contributed to its restructuring last week.

"The chance of playing in a FIFA U-17 World Cup is five times higher for a male player born in an even year than for a male player born in an odd year," the report highlighted. 

"Only one third of all countries offer two or more female youth competitions at domestic level," it added. "European youth national teams can play up to three times as many games as other teams globally across all age groups," the report also noted.

The new format will ensure more games for more teams, not just the ones who qualify for the U-17 World Cup, because of the expanded qualifying routes. At the same time, it will ensure that all players in this age group, regardless of their year of birth, will have an equal chance of playing in the premier event.

In Europe, on the other hand, fixture congestion has been a major area of concern in elite-level senior football. The change in the U-17 World Cup's format may cause some consternation as well.

However, it is important to acknowledge that while fixture congestion may be a valid factor for countries with well-developed youth structures, players in lesser-developed nations, as acknowledged by FIFA itself in the aforementioned report, do not usually get access to the same amount of game time.

An annual, expanded U-17 World Cup is certain to incentivize many countries to strengthen their youth structures, with stronger player pools required on an annual basis to compete for qualification to the apex U-17 competition.

The passion Indonesian fans displayed when cheering for their team during the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year showed how much pride fans attach to even an age-group World Cup.

Allowing more teams to be a part of the spectacle is a move that will very likely be welcomed by many football fans wanting to see their team represented on the world stage.

The next logical step for FIFA would be to make sure it can create concrete conditions to support and encourage the player pathway systems in developing countries, well above and beyond the U-17 level.