SportsPosted at: Oct 31 2026 4:46PM


FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival in figures: an unprecedented celebration of youth football

Baku (Azerbaijan), Oct 31 (UNI) The inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan was much more than a football tournament. It has been a global gathering of the next generation of players, a chance for youngsters from 189 countries to face each other on the pitch
and experience new cultures off it.
With almost 3,000 players travelling from every corner of the planet, it was also a huge logistical undertaking.

Teams from all six confederations win a match The breadth of participation has been reflected in the results. Some 187 of the 189 national teams won at least one match – a clear sign of the competitive opportunities created by the tournament’s inclusive format.

The finals across the different competition tiers also showcased the tournament’s international reach. Four Confederation of African Football (CAF) teams – the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Zambia – reached the finals, alongside four union of European Football Associations (UEFA) teams: Belarus, Czechia, Portugal and Spain.
They were joined by two Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams, Bangladesh and Tajikistan, one Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) team, Canada, and one Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) team, New Zealand.
The tournament has also provided a platform for FIFA’s long-term player-development work. A total of 554 players from 52 FIFA Talent Academies were represented at the event. The 932 matches produced 4,505 goals at an average of 4.83 per game.
Delivering football for 189 teams required an enormous amount of equipment and on-site organisation. From balls and corner flags to bibs, cones and hydration equipment, every
detail was planned to support a smooth and professional tournament environment.
A total of 397 volunteers supported the delivery of the event, working across venues, transport, team services and the wider festival programme. Bringing the world to Baku Getting teams, officials and guests – as well as 5,103 pieces of baggage – to Azerbaijan was one of the defining logistical challenges of the tournament.
The journeys themselves told the story of the tournament’s global character. The shortest flight
came from Tbilisi, Georgia, taking just one hour and 10 minutes. The longest journey was from Nuku’alofa, Tonga, which required 24 hours of travel.
The Bolivian delegation will face the most complex route on its way home, with four connections between Baku and Santa Cruz via Istanbul, Türkiye, Lima, Peru and Bogotá, Colombia.

Across airport arrivals, training sessions, matchdays and the opening and closing ceremonies, the transport operation moved thousands of people efficiently through the city.
A temporary city for young athletes The Athletes’ Village functioned as a temporary home for nearly 4,000 people. It accommodated 3,780 players and staff members across 445 apartments.

Catering was another major operation. Throughout the tournament, 114,560 hot meals were served, with demand remaining remarkably consistent across breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Laundry services also worked at industrial scale. Between 20 and 28 October, 3,134 bags of laundry were washed, representing a total weight of 26,754 kg.
Safety, care and emergency readiness The tournament was supported by a comprehensive security, law-enforcement and medical presence at both the Athletes’ Village and the Hövsan Sports Complex. The figures below refer to personnel deployed at each location.

This deployment ensured that players, team officials, guests and staff could compete, work and celebrate in a safe and well-supported environment. Behind every match Beyond the goals, celebrations and festival atmosphere, the event relied on thousands of individual operational
tasks.
The Tournament Services Volunteer shared inbox alone recorded 11,527 email exchanges, while accreditation and travel teams issued 2,338 visa letters, 857 e-visas and 1,200 friends-and-family passes. These figures illustrate the scale of planning required to host an event of this nature.
UNI BM
Yet they also show what made the first FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival special: a tournament designed not only to identify talent, but to give young players from 189 teams an unforgettable experience of international football.
From 900 balls and 3,328 bibs to 4,505 goals and 114,560 hot meals, the inaugural edition in Baku has set a powerful benchmark for the future of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival.
UNI BM
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