Futsal will take centre stage this week, with the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ set to get under way in the Philippines on Friday. The landmark event, running from 21 November to 7 December, will crown the sport’s first-ever women’s world champions – a milestone moment that would not have been possible without FIFA’s substantial investment via its tournaments and the Forward Programme, which now stands at more than USD 100 million since 2016. From Friday, 16 of the world’s top national teams, including current women’s futsal ranking leaders Brazil, will convene in the city of Pasig, Metro Manila, to compete for the inaugural women’s world title.

The story of FIFA’s Futsal World Cups began in the Netherlands in 1989 with the first men’s edition, and has continued with a further nine events to date. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has hailed the competition as “truly a game-changer”, one that will give the world’s best women’s futsal players the global stage they deserve. The selection of the Philippines as the host nation marks another major step forward for the country’s football and futsal development, following on from the historic debut of the women’s senior national football team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2023.

The FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup represents not only a sporting highlight but also the continuation of focused, long-term strategic investment by FIFA to accelerate the rapid growth of the women’s game worldwide. Since the launch of the Forward Programme in 2016, world football’s governing body has continually invested in both men’s and women’s futsal. FIFA’s investment is structured around ensuring that the best talent has a global platform. Part of this strategy includes hosting fees for Futsal World Cups, with specific examples including Colombia 2016 (USD 12m), Lithuania 2021 (USD 15m), Uzbekistan 2024 (USD 15m) and the Philippines 2025 (USD 14m). Beyond these specific tournaments, by the end of 2024, the FIFA had committed a further USD 29m to futsal-related projects globally through the Forward Programme.

The impact of these investments is clear to see in the exponential growth of the women’s game, with no fewer than 79 national teams having been involved in qualifying for the inaugural 16-team showpiece in the Philippines. This booming popularity was further reflected in the most recent FIFA Futsal Women’s World Ranking in August, which saw 12 new teams enter the standings. Furthermore, women’s futsal is achieving parity across continents: the number of women’s futsal tournaments hosted by the confederations has increased from two in 2016 to six today, and in 2025 to date, female players have participated in 232 official international matches.

FIFA’s commitment extends beyond competitive structures to include professionalisation and technology. In May 2024, FIFA formalised an official Futsal World Ranking system for both the men’s and women’s games, which is now used as the basis for pot allocations in tournament draws. Furthermore, FIFA launched a Video Support system (similar to a cost-effective VAR system for football) during the Futsal World Cup in Lithuania in 2021, testing it further in youth tournaments as well as at the Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan last year.

Hosting a FIFA tournament also leaves a significant legacy. The FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™, for instance, resulted in the construction of two new multi-purpose halls and the upgrading of six training halls to FIFA standards. The tournament also ensured that essential equipment – such as FIFA Quality-certified portable wooden flooring, scoreboards and goalposts – remained available for community use at venues that now serve as grassroots and amateur futsal hubs. Knowledge transfer is also crucial, with 207 Uzbeks forming part of the Local Organising Committee in 2024, providing them with hands-on experience of managing a major FIFA event. For the Philippines, the goal is also to leave a lasting impact by strengthening futsal infrastructure, grassroots programmes and opportunities for women to play the game. With just days to go until the tournament gets under way, the stage is set for an enthralling competition that will inspire future generations and further cement futsal’s place on the global stage.