As we all know FIFA loves to create World Cup competitions and the latest one is the U-15 World Cup. As of this year, you will know there is one additional youth competition: the FIFA U-15 World Cup. But it's a festival for under 15s. Every country in the world can participate, so in Europe, from Spain to San Marino, all the boys under 15 will come to a World Cup later this year. We are working on the details. We'll announce it very soon. Next year, it will be the girls, and as of the year 2028, it will be boys and girls under 15, a festival of 211 countries in the world, bringing, literally, girls and boys together.”
Since 2009, FIFA's method for age eligibility is limited to u17 MWC, as wrist MRIs fail to detect females ineligible for u17 competition. That should be a reason why FIFA's new u15 festival is an invitational: no medical test to combat age-cheating. Combining lack of u15 qualifiers with nonexistent medical u15 age checks, I expect rampant age-cheating in FIFA's 2026 u15 invitational: - In 2009, FIFA caught its u17 MWC host red-handed as wrist MRIs were introduced. NGA expected a few random tests per squad, FIFA asked scans for all NGA players. Hopefully, this will revive a discussion on age-cheating in youth sports. Primarily in u17 WWC, where FIFA has looked the other way as wrist MRIs are unreliable for female age verification.
I agree. It is not and never will be a revenue producing tournament and it does not make development for either sex either easier or better. In fact the same can, mostly, be said for U17. I do not think heavy international play should begin before U21 and, even then, the tournaments do not make much sense. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy watching soccer at all levels (I even walk down the street to a local park to see matches played in the local rec league. Even U8 is fun to watch. But these Ux tournaments (particularly the international ones) do nothing but put unneeded physical and mental strain of the kids involved. But FIFA is in charge and I am quite sure FIFA sees some monetary advantage in them. I know FIFA does not care at all about the well being of the players but they do care about the money.