The 24 nations to qualify for the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan have been decided, with four Asian teams joining New Zealand at the tournament.
The latest to qualify are Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Thailand who won their places at the AFC Asian Futsal Cup.
The FIFA Futsal World Cup will run from September 14 – October 6, 2024.
Iran won the Asian Cup, with Thailand as runners-up, while Tajikistan (4th) and Afghanistan (5th) qualified because Uzbekistan, who finished third, were automatically qualified as hosts.
Four former world champions have booked their places. Five-time winners Brazil, dual champions Spain, Argentina and defending champions Portugal have all confirmed their spots at the tournament.
Netherlands are past runners-up at the Futsal World Cup
New Zealand will attend the tournament for the first time. Other teams making their World Cup debut are France, Afghanistan and Tajkistan.
Main photo: Reigning world champions Portugal … winners of the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup. Photo credit: FIFA.
The 24 teams who have qualified
Nations to confirm their qualification for the FIFA Futsal World Cup:
- New Zealand who qualified by winning the 2023 OFC Futsal Nations Cup.
- Uzbekistan qualify as the host nation.
- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela, who qualified by filling the top four places at the Copa América de Futsal tournament held in Paraguay in February 2024.
- France, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, Croatia and Netherlands who have qualified through the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifiers.
- Angola, Libya and Morocco who qualified through the 2024 Futsal Africa Cup of Nations.
- Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala and Panama qualified by filling the top places at the 2024 CONCACAF Futsal Championship.
- Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Thailand qualified through the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup.
Who won’t be there
Notable absentees include Russia, banned by UEFA after their country’s invasion of Ukraine, and past qualifiers such as Egypt, Japan, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Serbia and the United States.
Australia missed out on qualification by failing to reach the semi-finals at the AFC Asian Futsal Cup tournament.
About the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup
Organisers will perform the draw for the tournament on Sunday May 26, 2024, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The 24 qualifying teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams.
The six group winners, six runners-up and the four best third-placed teams will go into a Round of 16 knockout stage.
The winners go forward to quarter-finals, before sudden death semi-finals and the final.
Host cities
The three host cities for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the first FIFA event to be staged in a Central Asian country, have been decided, with the capital, Tashkent, being joined by the ancient Silk Road trading centre of Bukhara and the city of Andijan in the Fergana Valley.
“We are delighted with the choice of these three incredible cities, which represent the contrasting faces of Uzbekistan, and I am sure that the 24 participating teams will feel at home here and be able to perform at their best,” said FIFA Director of Tournaments, Jaime Yarza.
“This will be the first-ever FIFA tournament to take place in Uzbekistan, and indeed Central Asia, which makes it very special for FIFA and supports our mission of becoming truly global.”
Champions
1989: Brazil
1992: Brazil
1996: Brazil
2000: Spain
2004: Spain
2008: Brazil
2012: Brazil
2016: Argentina
2021: Portugal
Golden Ball winners
1989: Victor Hermans (Netherlands)
1992: Jorginho (Brazil)
1996: Manoel Tobias (Brazil)
2000: Manoel Tobias (Brazil)
2004: Falcao (Brazil)
2008: Falcao (Brazil)
2012: Neto (Brazil)
2016: Fernando Wilhelm (Argentina)
2021: Ricardinho (Portugal)
Most participations at a FIFA Futsal World Cup
Not including Uzbekistan 2024
9 – Spain
9 – Argentina
8 – IR Iran
7 – Australia
7 – Egypt
7 – Italy
7 – Paraguay
7 – Russia
6 – Portugal
6 – Thailand
6 – USA
5 – Costa Rica
5 – Cuba
5 – Guatemala
5 – Japan
5 – Ukraine
4 – Czechia
4 – Netherlands
4 – Solomon Islands
3 – Belgium
3 – China PR
3 – Kazakhstan
3 – Morocco
3 – Panama
2 – Colombia
2 – Libya
2 – Serbia
2 – Uzbekistan
2 – Vietnam
1 – Algeria
1 – Angola
1 – Azerbaijan
1 – Canada
1 – Chinese Taipei
1 – Croatia
1 – Denmark
1 – Hungary
1 – Kuwait
1 – Lithuania
1 – Malaysia
1 – Mexico
1 – Mozambique
1 – Nigeria
1 – Poland
1 – Saudi Arabia
1 – Venezuela
1 – Zimbabwe
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