Fifa has announced a new four-year women’s international match calendar that will come in from 2026 but faces criticism for not including mandatory rest periods and for undermining domestic leagues.
The new international match calendar, which the global governing body said has a “player-centric focus” and “is backed by extensive research, analysis and consultation” includes a welcome reduction in the number of international windows from six to five. These windows will be placed in February-March, April, May-June, October, and November-December, removing the heavily criticised July and September windows – the former falling well after domestic seasons have ended and the latter disrupting pre-season preparations, for those leagues operating across the winter.
