Eight teams to compete for regional championship and three available spots in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018
MIAMI – CONCACAF announced Tuesday that Nicaragua will host the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship from April 19-29, 2018.

The eight-team competition will crown the region’s champion and qualify three teams to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018.

“CONCACAF is proud to bring the 2018 Under-17 Women’s Championship to Nicaragua, as we continue to focus on supporting development of women’s game throughout the Confederation,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Philippe Moggio. “The women’s game in Central America has fantastic potential for growth. We’re confident that this championship will provide motivation for young women across the region as participation numbers in Nicaragua and throughout the region continue to climb.”

Managua’s Estadio Nacional will be the venue for all sixteen matches played across eight matchdays.

“It is an honor and privilege for the Nicaraguan Football Federation to be named by CONCACAF as a host of a tournament of the magnitude of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship,” said the President of the Nicaraguan Football Federation, Manuel Salvador Quintanilla. “We are very grateful and proud, for the confidence that CONCACAF has deposited in our federation, our executive committee and our collaborators, to deliver this event, which will have a positive impact on the development of women’s football in our country.

“This is the first time that our country will hosts an event of such magnitude. We are ready to welcome the participating teams with the warmth and hospitality that characterizes our country.”

The CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship field consists of Central American sides Nicaragua (host) and Costa Rica (first-place finisher of the 2017 CONCACAF Central America Women’s Under-17 Qualifier); Canada, Mexico and the United States (automatic North American entrants); plus Haiti, Bermuda and Puerto Rico (top three finishers from the 2017 CONCACAF Caribbean Women’s Under-17 Qualifier).

The official draw will take place in early 2018.

In the previous edition of the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship played in Grenada in 2016, the United States won its third straight championship at this level, with a 2-1 win over Mexico in the final.

CONCACAF Women’s Uner-17 Championship Nicaragua 2018
Date: April 19 – 29, 2018
Site: Managua, Nicaragua
Teams: 8
North America (3)
Caribbean (3)
Central America (2)

Number of teams to qualify for the World Cup: 3 (Champion, runner-up and third place)

Competition Format: The eight participating teams will be sorted into two groups of four for the Group Stage. After round-robin play, the two group winners, plus the two second-place finishers will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will automatically qualify to the championship final and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The semifinal losers will dispute the tournament’s third place match for the last available ticket to the World Cup.