Round One of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers: 5 Things You Need to Know

MIAMI – Round One of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers kicks off on January 24, with the first phase of the tournament set to serve as the first step towards qualification for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup for the participating Concacaf Member Associations. 

Here are 5 things you need to know about the First Round of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers.

1.    What 

Round One of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers will determine the eight nations that will move onto the Final Round and join the four top-ranked teams in the region, which received a bye (listed in alphabetical order): Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. 

The 2026 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers will be the second edition of the event to be played under the current two-round format, following its introduction in 2025. 

2.    Who 

Round One of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers will feature 28 national teams, which were split into six groups: 

Group A
Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Belize, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica 

Group B
Panama, Bermuda, Suriname, Bonaire 

Group C
Haiti, Guatemala, Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda 

Group D
Honduras, Jamaica, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Aruba 

Group E
Costa Rica, Cuba, Grenada, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands 

Group F
El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao, Barbados 

3.    When  

Round One of the U-17 Women’s Qualifiers will take place from January 24 to February 2. 

4.    Where 

Matches will be split across four countries:  

·      Nicaragua will host Groups A and E

·      Bermuda will host Group B

·      Curaçao will host Groups C and F

·      Aruba will host Group D 

For kickoff times and additional match information click HERE. 

5.    Concacaf’s Road to the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 

After the round-robin group stage play in Round One, the six group winners and the two best second-place finishers will advance to the Final Round.  

The 12 participating teams in the Final Round will compete for four slots to represent Concacaf at the global competition, set to take place in Morocco between October and November of this year. 

In the previous edition of the Concacaf Women's U-17 Qualifiers, played under the same two-round format, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States topped their respective groups to secure qualification for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2025 in Morocco.