FIFA Under-17 World Cup to kick off in Qatar despite US withdrawal

FIFA says the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar will kick off as scheduled on November 19, despite the United States’ decision to withdraw its team from the tournament.

US Soccer withdrew its national team citing safety concerns, but the sport’s global governing body, which is hosting the tournament in Qatar, confirmed on Thursday that its plans remain unchanged.

“The safety and security of all participants and fans remain paramount. As with all FIFA tournaments and events, we are in close contact with the relevant authorities and ‌‌‌‌are looking forward to the tournament kickoff in Qatar,” FIFA told Al Jazeera in a statement hours after the USA’s announcement.

“In recent months, Qatar has successfully hosted several international events,” it added.

Qatar hosted two major international tournaments in the past two weeks.

MotoGP’s Qatar Grand Prix was successfully held on 8 and the FIP Padel World Cup 2026 concluded on the same day.

With a week until the Under-17 World Cup kicks off, FIFA confirmed that its security assessments “remain unchanged” and that no new ⁠⁠⁠⁠developments affecting the security situation around the tournament have occurred.

“FIFA understands that US Soccer’s decision was made in light of the existing US ⁠⁠⁠⁠Level 3 travel advisory,” it said.

In a letter sent to players, the US Soccer Federation ⁠⁠⁠⁠said it was cancelling the team’s pre-tournament camp and its participation in the event “in light of current circumstances”, according to the Reuters news agency.

The US State Department updated its advisory for Qatar last month, urging Americans to reconsider travel because of the risk of armed conflict.

The update referred to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civilian ‌‌‌‌airports and critical infrastructure.

“The well-being of our players and staff will always be our top priority,” the US federation’s letter said.

The 48-team Under-17 tournament runs from November 19 to December 13. USA had been due ⁠⁠⁠⁠to open against Montenegro on November 21 before ⁠⁠⁠⁠facing Chile and Algeria in Group J.