The Estonian men’s national football team will participate in a FIFA Series tournament in Rwanda this March, where they will face the hosts Rwanda, as well as Kenya and Grenada.
Following the successful pilot edition in 2024, the FIFA Series tournaments will continue this year. Estonia will take part in one of the two tournaments hosted in Rwanda, while other four-team groups will be staged in Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and Uzbekistan. In addition, three women’s FIFA Series tournaments will be held in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, and Thailand.
In total, 48 national teams will compete across 12 tournaments during the international windows in March and April. With 48 participating teams, the FIFA Series involves approximately one quarter of the world’s national football teams.
The Rwanda-hosted tournament featuring Estonia will take place at the end of March, with the exact schedule and competition format to be confirmed in the near future.
Among Estonia’s potential opponents, Kenya are ranked 113th, Rwanda 131st, and Grenada 164th in the current FIFA World Rankings.
“This is certainly a very interesting format, which gives us the opportunity during the March international window to measure ourselves against completely new opponents who are likely to be quite close to our own level,” said Estonia head coach Jürgen Henn. “Our goal is to use this time as effectively as possible, because after a longer break we need to regain our rhythm in order to be well prepared for the Baltic tournament in the summer and the Nations League in the autumn.”
Beyond match play, the FIFA Series tournaments are also designed to support holistic football development off the pitch. Host and participating federations gain practical experience in event organisation, planning, referee development, and competition management, simulating the conditions of major international tournaments.
Source: https://jalgpall.ee/koondis/1/uudised/meeste-koondis-osaleb-rwandas-toimuval-turniiril-n25563
