The UEFA Friendship Cup 2026: Everything you need to know
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Paraguay were crowned winners as some of the world's best women's under-18 teams gathered in Riva, Türkiye, for the UEFA Friendship Cup 2026.
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What is the UEFA Friendship Cup?
Launched in May 2024, the annual UEFA Friendship Cup invites men's and women's under-18 national teams from Europe and our sister confederations to participate in eight-team tournaments. For most participants, the competition represents a first taste of international tournament football – and perhaps of a different culture and language.
When did the last tournament take place?
The Women's UEFA Friendship Cup 2026 took place at the home of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) in Riva.
Teams were split into two groups of four, playing round-robin fixtures. Play-off matches determined the final rankings, ensuring every game counted.
Who won the Women's UEFA Friendship Cup 2026?
Under-18 national teams hailing from five of the world's six football confederations competed in the third edition of the Women's UEFA Friendship Cup:
- AFC (Asia): Uzbekistan
- CAF (Africa): Ethiopia and Morocco
- Concacaf (North and Central America): Costa Rica
- CONMEBOL (South America): Paraguay and Uruguay
- UEFA (Europe): Norway and Türkiye
Paraguay emerged as the winners, defeating Norway 1-0 in the final. Hosts Türkiye finished third after a 3-1 victory against Ethiopia.
Where can I catch up on the tournament?
Every match is available to watch on the UEFA YouTube channel and UEFA.tv.
How does the Friendship Cup differ from UEFA's other competitions?
Like our other youth competitions, the UEFA Friendship Cup offers young players an important opportunity to test themselves against other nations and styles of football. Experts also run educational sessions on important topics such as anti-doping and anti-match-fixing.
However, the tournament is far more than just a football competition. For the players and coaches who travelled to Riva, we ensured what happened off the pitch made a lasting impact on their personal development. Between matchdays, they joined tours of the local area, experienced new places and forged friendships with athletes from different cultures and backgrounds.
Who organises the UEFA Friendship Cup?
The UEFA Friendship Cup is delivered through our UEFA Together development programme, which shares the experiences and knowledge of UEFA and its member associations with FIFA's five other confederations and their associations.
To help facilitate participation, we cover the cost of each team's accommodation and food and contribute to their travel costs. We also provide meeting, kit and medical rooms as well as access to local community training facilities.
Previous editions held in Türkiye have been organised in close collaboration with the Turkish Football Federation, and the 2026 edition was no exception.
The partnership provided a win-win scenario for everyone involved: Türkiye's youth national teams gained international exposure, young and talented match officials officiated high quality international matches, and local staff honed their tournament operations skills and built new contacts with federations from outside Europe.