Football: Georgia, Armenia to host 2029 FIFA U-20 World Cup
World soccer governing body FIFA has named Georgia and Armenia as co-hosts of the 2029 U-20 World Cup, marking the first time the two South Caucasus countries will host a FIFA tournament. The joint bid was approved at a FIFA Council meeting on April 28 in Vancouver, Canada, on the eve of the 76th FIFA Congress.
IANS
Apr 29, 2026 11:37
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Yerevan/Tbilisi, April 29 (IANS) World soccer governing body FIFA has named Georgia and Armenia as co-hosts of the 2029 U-20 World Cup, marking the first time the two South Caucasus countries will host a FIFA tournament. The joint bid was approved at a FIFA Council meeting on April 28 in Vancouver, Canada, on the eve of the 76th FIFA Congress.
The tournament, held every two years since 1977, features 24 teams in its final round.
The Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) called it "an unprecedented achievement," saying it reflected the international football community's high confidence and would give young Armenian players and fans the chance to experience a World Cup atmosphere on home soil, reports Xinhua.
"Hosting this tournament is of great importance for both federations," said FFA president Armen Melikbekyan, adding that he was confident both Georgia and Armenia would host the World Cup with dignity and would do everything possible to make the tournament stand out in the history of FIFA's youth competitions.
President of the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) Levan Kobiashvili said he was confident the tournament would leave a lasting mark on football development in the region.
"This is truly a remarkable event -- for the first time in the history of independent Georgian football, we will host a world-class tournament under FIFA's auspices," added Kobiashvili.
The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977, when it was hosted by Tunisia under its old name of FIFA World Youth Championship, which stayed till 2005, when it was changed to the present name in 2007. FIFA bills the men's Under-20 World Cup as "the tournament of tomorrow's superstars."
Thus far, 23 editions of the tournament have been held, and 12 nations have won the title so far. Argentina U20 is the most successful team with six titles, followed by Brazil U20 with five titles.
Morocco won the title in the last edition of the competition held in Chile in 2025. The next edition will be jointly hosted by Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in 2027.
--IANS
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