FIFA Talent Development Scheme Insights: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025

This Talent Development Scheme Insights Report explores the key developmental factors influencing players and team officials at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2025™.

The tournament took place in Morocco between 17 October and 8 November and marked the first edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ to feature an expanded format. It involved a 24-team line-up (up from the previous 16) and ushered in an annual competition cycle, replacing the previous biennial format. The 2025 edition was also unique in that it marked the first of five consecutive tournaments to be hosted by Morocco through to 2029. The report is structured into the following five sections:

Introduction and executive summary
FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) impact
Match results and key performance insights
Player insights
Team official insights

The report at a glance

1. Key ‘find, train & play’ findings

Participating Member Associations (PMAs) that reached the knockout stage in Morocco were more likely to have a talent identification strategy in place. Their players were also more likely to follow an individual development plan and play more club matches per year.

2. Larger portion of older players in knockout stages

The portion of players born in 2008 increased progressively from the group stage to the semi-finals. Many of these players will be ineligible for the 2026 iteration. In contrast, players born in 2009, 2010 or 2011 could participate in the next one, two or three editions.

3. Presence of the relative age affect (RAE)

Historically, relatively younger players within an age group (e.g. within the 2011 cohort) face several challenges when it comes to identification and transition into senior football. In Morocco, an overrepresentation of players born in birth quarter 1 was evident in some confederations, alongside an underrepresentation of players from birth quarter 4.

4. Concentration of development in specific nations

A total of 155 players (31% of participating players) were developed by clubs from five countries: the USA, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. The USA alone contributed to the development of 55 players, spanning across 10 different national teams at the tournament.

5. Portion of domestic team officials

Almost all semi-finalists’ team officials were from the country they were representing. The portion of team officials that were domestic increased from 86% in the group stage to 97% for the final four.