Source: Ma Dexing Dexing Society
At the 28th meeting of the FIFA Council held in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 15, in addition to making new regulations and adjustments to a series of events hosted by FIFA, another important resolution adopted by the Council was to announce the "2026-2029 Women's Football International Calendar". An obvious change and feature is that the competition window period of the women's national team is reduced, and FIFA will further tilt to the club. This is a noticeable trend and change that the Chinese women's football team wants to revive.
① Behind the reduction of window period
The so-called "Women's Football International Competition Calendar" is more commonly referred to as "the competition window period designated by FIFA for women's national teams". In this competition window period, women's national teams of various countries and regions can participate in intercontinental competitions or arrange various warm-up matches and friendly matches. All clubs must release players unconditionally. According to the latest resolution of the Council of FIFA, in the four-year cycle from 2026 to 2029, the competition window period of the women's national team will be reduced from the original six window periods to five each year, which will be arranged from the end of February to the beginning of March, April, from the end of May to the beginning of June, October and from the end of November to the beginning of December.
At the same time, the types of each different window period are also adjusted from the original three window periods to two, so as to ensure that all women's football national teams in the world play the same games in the same window period. Specifically, there are two "Class I window periods" with a duration of 9 days, which are arranged from the end of May to the beginning of June and October of each year. During such window periods, each national women's football team can only participate in up to two international matches. The duration of "Class II window period" is 12 days, which is respectively arranged from the end of February to the beginning of March, April and the end of November to the beginning of December. During such window periods, national women's football teams of various countries and regions are allowed to arrange up to three international matches.
According to FIFA, such a decision was made based on the principle of "player centered" and after extensive research, analysis and investigation. Its purpose was first to enhance the rest time of women football players, reduce the number of trips and time, so that they could get better rest. The average interval between the match window period and the window period of the women's national team designated in this new cycle is at least 4 weeks.
Moreover, FIFA has not only reduced the number of competition window periods for women's national teams, but also stipulated that there should be at least ten weeks between the end of intercontinental or world competitions and the next competition window period for women's national teams, so that women's football players can have a better time. Therefore, in the window period proposed by FIFA, after the end of the window period from the end of May to the beginning of June, the next window period is arranged in October, which aims to make the Women's World Cup on all continents, including women's football, be held in June and July as far as possible, and ensure the rest of women's football players after the event.
Another purpose of FIFA's arrangement is to minimize the impact and influence of national team recruitment on club events. With the development of women's football in the world, women's football in all countries and regions is further developing towards professionalism, but not all countries and regions have completely become professional. The adjustment of the international calendar of women's football by FIFA is to leave more time and space while strengthening the construction of women's national teams, so that women's football leagues in various countries and regions can also speed up the process of professionalization and reduce the impact of the recruitment of women's national teams on the construction and development of their respective leagues and women's football clubs.
At the same time, the arrangement of FIFA's "Class II window period" starts on Tuesday, which is also the hope that national and regional football associations will make more use of Friday, Saturday and Sunday to arrange the women's national team matches, so as to better carry out commercial development and increase the income of women's national teams on match days.
② How Chinese Women's Football Team Cope
It should be said that the "Women's Football International Competition Calendar" of the latest four-year cycle from 2026 to 2029, which was recently adopted by the FIFA Council, together with the establishment of the new Women's Football World Club Cup, is a specific measure and countermeasure for FIFA to further comprehensively promote the development of the global women's football movement and accelerate the professionalization of women's football. Its purpose is also quite clear. Moreover, the message is also very clear, that like men's football, clubs and domestic leagues are the foundation for the development of women's football. Facing this new situation, how should the Chinese women's football team deal with it? What should I do specifically? This is obviously worthy of serious research and reflection by the managers of Chinese women's football.
It is a well-known secret that the reason why European and American women's football has been developing rapidly in recent years is to directly transplant the successful experience of men's football professionalization to women's football with the help of the successful experience of men's football professionalization. Because of this, in the 1990s, with the advantages of early start and high degree of specialization, the Chinese women's football team was once infinitely close to the peak of the world's women's football team, but these years, it has been left far behind, and is in a clearly outdated stage. In other words, the great era and environment in which the so-called "Keng Jiang Rose" was at that time no longer exists. Unfortunately, our managers are still dreaming of going back to the past, still using the old routine of "long-term intensive training", coupled with the outdated and outdated technical and tactical concepts, so the status of Chinese women's football in the world women's football is declining.
This time, FIFA readjusted the match window period of the national team, and further inclined to the club. While ensuring that women's football players have enough rest time, it further highlighted the importance of the club, emphasized the development of professionalism of women's football clubs, and hoped to speed up the process of professionalism. So, for example, China's women's super league and women's top leagues comprehensively compress the schedule and cycle in order to make more time for national team training, should this practice be changed in all aspects? Moreover, even if the national women's football team has been training for a long time, it cannot contact high-quality warm-up matches, because women's football teams in all countries and regions around the world are implementing unified standards. Therefore, the training period can only be "just practice without playing". What's the significance of improving the team and players' own level?
This is actually the same as the situation of the Chinese men's football team. Over the years, the consensus of all parties is that the league is the foundation of the national team. Without a strong high-level league foundation, it is difficult for the national team to be internationally competitive. Moreover, the cycle of the Chinese men's football league is only eight months a year. Compared with other Asian countries and regions and even the world's high-level leagues, the Chinese men's football professional league has at least 10 months in a season. Both the cycle and other aspects need to be improved and perfected. That is to say, men's football is the foundation of women's football. The understanding and cognition that separates Chinese women's football from Chinese men's football is itself an undesirable way and attitude, not to mention that there are too many similarities between Chinese women's football and Chinese men's football in terms of technology and tactics at present.
Therefore, in the face of the latest resolution of FIFA and the reality that Chinese women's football has "nothing" at present, it is time for Chinese women's football managers to adjust their development ideas and strategies from reality.
