MUSCAT: Oman’s national football team will take part in the expanded Fifa Series 2026, where they are set to face hosts Azerbaijan, alongside Sierra Leone, Saint Lucia and Indonesia, according to the official announcement made recently by Fifa, the world football governing body.
The Fifa Series 2026 is a global initiative featuring friendly mini-tournaments scheduled to be played during the international windows between March and April. All matches will be officially broadcast with the detailed match schedule to be announced in due course by Fifa.
The tournament will serve as a key preparatory platform for Oman as the Red Warriors gear up for a packed international calendar including the AFC Asian Cup 2027, which is set to take place in early January next year, the West Asian Championship scheduled to be hosted in Salalah in August and the Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia from September 23 to October 6.
Oman coaching staff headed by the coach Carlos Queiroz will aim to gain valuable international experience, test squad depth, and fine-tune tactical approaches ahead of the coming major continental and global competitions.
For the first time in the competition’s history, the Fifa Series will feature both men’s and women’s tournaments, bringing together a total of 48 national teams from all six continental confederations. The second edition of the series builds on the pilot model launched in 2024 and aims to provide rare and diverse international matchups without adding extra dates to the already congested international calendar.
In the men’s competition, matches will be staged across Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Rwanda (hosting two series) and Uzbekistan, offering participating teams exposure to different footballing styles and environments. Among the confirmed participants are five national teams that have already qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, alongside several emerging football nations. From the Conmebol region, Chile and Venezuela will compete in the men’s tournament, while Brazil will take part in the women’s competition.
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