Puerto Rico Qualifies for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the First Time
Photo via Instagram @fpfpuertorico
The Puerto Rican U17 Women’s Team is going to the next World Cup. That’s right, the U17 women’s side for Puerto Rico has become the first national team in the country’s history to qualify for any World Cup. They will get to represent the island at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026.
CONCACAF qualifying also saw Canada, Mexico, and the US qualify. Those three teams won their respective groups. Puerto Rico qualified as the best runner-up. They beat Haiti 3-1 and scored 9 on Bermuda, which ended up being the most important result as Costa Rica also finished with 6 points. Puerto Rico, however, advanced to the World Cup thanks to the goal difference tiebreaker.
The tenth edition of the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup will take place in Morocco from October 17 to November 7, 2026. Twenty-four teams will face each other for the title of world champions. Only 7 teams have qualified so far: Canada, Mexico, Morocco (host), New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Samoa, and the United States.
Groups and host cities/stadiums will be announced later in the year.
Puerto Rico has never qualified for a men’s FIFA World Cup in any category. This is the first time the women qualify for any category. FIFA also celebrates a U-20 World Cup as well as the senior World Cup, where players of any age can participate. The U-17 FIFA World Cup is set to be played annually, with Morocco hosting the previous edition and the next four, until 2029.