​FIFA has announced that the United States will host the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in January 2028.The tournament will feature 19 club teams hailing from all six confederations, taking place from January 5-30.FIFA also announced the first seven teams that will participate in the competition: Arsenal FC (England), Club América (Mexico), FC Barcelona (Spain), Gotham FC (United States), Naegohyang Women’s FC (DPR Korea), SC Corinthians (Brazil) and Wuhan Jiangda WFC (China PR).According to FIFA, the seven slots were awarded “with the goal of striking the right balance between competitive quality and global representation” and prioritized continental champions spanning seasons ending in the years 2024 – 2027.The remaining 12 slots will be determined via UEFA and Concacaf ranking systems, while FIFA will establish a club ranking mechanism for the remaining confederations. The total allocation of spots for the tournament is as follows:AFC, CAF, Concacaf and CONMEBOL: Three placesUEFA: Six placesOFC: One placeFIFA chooses USA as Women’s Club World Cup hostAccording to FIFA’s chief women’s football officer Dame Sarai Bareman, the success of the 2025 men’s Club World Cup and the 2026 men’s World Cup in the United States (with Mexico and Canada serving as co-hosts of the latter competition) led the governing body to select the U.S. for the first Women’s Club World Cup.”We undertook a detailed assessment to identify the most suitable host for the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup,” Bareman said in a news release. “Ultimately, the United States’ recent excellence in staging top FIFA tournaments, combined with the significant interest in women’s football there plus its elite sporting infrastructure, made the country the standout option.“Alongside the vibrant and passionate women’s football ecosystem in the United States, the qualified clubs, government, host cities, our commercial and media partners and more, our mission will be to set an impressive standard for global women’s club football and a benchmark for the future.”The United States also served as host of the first edition of the expanded men’s Club World Cup, which took place in the summer of 2025. The tournament featured 32 teams, expanding from just seven under its previous format.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: United States to host inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in 2028