In Baku, where the Caspian shoreline meets a rapidly changing football city, FIFA is opening a new route into international competition for the youngest national-team players. The inaugural FIFA Under-15 World Cup begins on Saturday in Azerbaijan, bringing together an extraordinary 189 teams for a compact, festival-style tournament that runs until 30 October.
The news from the club
This is not a conventional 11-a-side youth World Cup. Matches will be played eight against eight, on reduced pitches, with two 20-minute halves. FIFA expects close to 1,000 games across the event, with infrastructure in Baku allowing as many as 20 matches to take place at the same time on different fields.
Each participating association may bring a squad of 14 players, supported by a maximum of six staff members. Eligible footballers were born in either 2011 or 2012.
The smaller-sided format was developed under the global football development team led by Arsène Wenger. Roberto Grassi, FIFA’s youth tournaments director, said the model was selected because it makes the game quicker while also helping teams whose training environments and resources are less developed.
Grassi said reduced pitches should create a faster, more demanding contest and offer a fairer balance between physical, tactical and technical requirements. The intention is to establish a common playing framework in which all participating nations can compete at a strong level.
FIFA has created the competition in part for associations that rarely reach established world finals. The tournament is designed to give young players exposure to an international environment, test themselves against peers from other countries and provide an experience that can encourage the next generation of footballers.
Brazil arrive after preparing at Granja Comary, where the Brazilian Football Confederation adjusted training fields to replicate the dimensions in Baku. Their Under-15 coach, Guilherme Dalla Dea, said his group completed seven sessions across five days.
Dalla Dea, who led Brazil to the Under-17 World Cup title in 2019, described the eight-player game as more dynamic and intense than the full-sided version. He credited CBF president Samir Xaud and youth-football coordinator Branco with providing the conditions required for the squad’s preparation.
For Dalla Dea, the trip carries a value beyond results. He said representing a country at such an early age brings responsibility, with FIFA rules governing training schedules, meals and respect for opponents. Living alongside players from around the world, he added, is part of a football education that may later see these youngsters become club colleagues or rivals in Brazil, Europe and elsewhere.
The calendar beyond Baku
The Baku edition is the first step in FIFA’s new Under-15 programme. A women’s version is planned for next year, while from 2028 the competition is scheduled to include tournaments for both boys and girls.
