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FIFA International Match Calendar
Association football scheduling agreement
Association football scheduling agreement
The FIFA International Match Calendar (sometimes abbreviated as the FIFA Calendar) is an outline agreement between FIFA, the six continental football confederations, the European Club Association, and FIFPro, which sets out which dates can be used for "official" and "friendly" international matches. Individual periods of these dates are commonly referred to as "international breaks".
The current dates are within five windows: in March, June, September, October, and November. The match calendar also determines when international competitions such as the AFC Asian Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, Copa América, CONCACAF Gold Cup, OFC Nations Cup, UEFA European Championship, FIFA World Cup, and the Summer Olympics can take place.
Official matches have a release period of four days, which means that players can take up to four days away from club duties to partake in national team duties. If a player participates in an official match on a different continent from their club's, the release period is five days. Friendly matches are deemed less important and the release period is 48 hours.
FIFA insist that official and friendly matches take precedence over domestic matches. However, they state that international friendlies that take place outside the designated dates do not.
The calendar was first used during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Upcoming match windows
Men's International Match Calendar
| Dates | Matches or tournaments |
|---|---|
| 23–31 March 2026 | 2 |
| 1–9 June 2026 | 2 |
| 11 June – 19 July 2026 | [2026 FIFA World Cup](2026-fifa-world-cup) |
| 21 September – 6 October 2026 | 4 |
| 9–17 November 2026 | 2 |
| 7 January – 5 February 2027 | [2027 AFC Asian Cup](2027-afc-asian-cup) |
| 22–30 March 2027 | 2 |
| 7–15 June 2027 | 2 |
| June – July 2027 | [2027 CONCACAF Gold Cup](2027-concacaf-gold-cup) |
| [2027 Africa Cup of Nations](2027-africa-cup-of-nations) | |
| 20 September – 5 October 2027 | 4 |
| 8–16 November 2027 | 2 |
| 20–28 March 2028 | 2 |
| 29 May – 6 June 2028 | 2 |
| June – July 2028 | [2028 OFC Men's Nations Cup](2028-ofc-men-s-nations-cup) |
| [2028 Copa América](2028-copa-america) | |
| UEFA Euro 2028 | |
| 18 September – 3 October 2028 | 4 |
| 13–21 November 2028 | 2 |
| 19–27 March 2029 | 2 |
| 4–12 June 2029 | 2 |
| June – July 2029 | [2029 CONCACAF Gold Cup](2029-concacaf-gold-cup) |
| 24 September – 9 October 2029 | 4 |
| 12–20 November 2029 | 2 |
| 18–26 March 2030 | 2 |
| 3–11 June 2030 | 2 |
| June – July 2030 | [2030 FIFA World Cup](2030-fifa-world-cup) |
| 23 September – 8 October 2030 | 4 |
| 11–19 November 2030 | 2 |
Women's International Match Calendar
The women's international match calendar sets out which dates can be used for "official" and "friendly" women's international matches.
The current dates are within six windows: in February or March, April, June or July, September, October, and November.
| Dates | Window type | Number of matches |
|---|---|---|
| 23 February – 5 April 2026 | Blocked period | |
| 24 February – 7 March 2026 | Type II | 3 |
| 1–21 March 2026 | [2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup](2026-afc-women-s-asian-cup) | |
| 17 March–3 April 2026 | [2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations](2026-women-s-africa-cup-of-nations) | |
| 7–18 April 2026 | Type II | 3 |
| 1–9 June 2026 | Type I | 2 |
| 5–13 October 2026 | Type I | 2 |
| 24 November – 5 December 2026 | Type II | 3 |
| 23 February – 6 March 2027 | Type II | 3 |
| 13–24 April 2027 | Type II | 3 |
| 7–15 June 2027 | Type I | 2 |
| 24 June – 25 July 2027 | [2027 FIFA Women's World Cup](2027-fifa-women-s-world-cup) | |
| 4–12 October 2027 | Type I | 2 |
| 23 November – 4 December 2027 | Type II | 3 |
| 21 February – 2 April 2028 | Blocked period (except UEFA) | |
| 22 February – 4 March 2028 | Type II | 3 |
| 4–15 April 2028 | Type II | 3 |
| 29 May – 6 June 2028 | Type I | 2 |
| 10–30 July 2028 | Women's Olympic Football Tournament | |
| 2–10 October 2028 | Type I | 2 |
| 21 November – 2 December 2028 | Type II | 3 |
| 22 January – 4 March 2029 | Blocked period (except UEFA) | |
| 20 February – 3 March 2029 | Type II | 3 |
| 10–21 April 2029 | Type II | 3 |
| June 2029 | Type I | 2 |
| 4 June – 29 July 2029 | Blocked period | |
| 15–23 October 2029 | Type I | 2 |
| 27 November – 8 December 2029 | Type II | 3 |
Notes
References
References
- (5 March 2012). "International match calendar – major step made towards final agreement". FIFA.com.
- "Release of players for national association representative matches in accordance with the Coordinated International Match Calendar". FIFA.com.
- "Men's International Match Calendar 2023-2030".
- (18 January 2024). "Women's International Match Calendar 2024-2025".
- (18 July 2024). "Women's International Match Calendar 2026-2029".
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