ATLANTA (July 17, 2026) – The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Cerebral Palsy National Teams both learned their group schedule for the 2026 IFCPF Cerebral Palsy World Cup on Friday, which will be held from Oct. 12-24 at the brand-new Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Fayetteville, Ga.
The World Cup Draws took place at the state-of-the-art facility Friday and was overseen by IFCPF Executive Director Ash Hammond with assistance from U.S. Soccer Head of Extended National Teams Stuart Sharp, U.S. Men’s Cerebral Palsy National Team defender Josh Brunais, U.S. Women’s Cerebral Palsy National Team defender Joey Martin, Joseph Brannan, the Executive Director for U.S. Representative Brian Jack, Jim and Tina Walker of the Georgia Soccer Association, and youth players from CP Soccer Atlanta.
The CP MNT was drawn into Group A, where it will face Canada (Oct. 14; 4:30 p.m. ET), Scotland (Oct. 16; 4:30 p.m. ET) and Netherlands (Oct. 18; 5:40 p.m. ET).
The CP WNT was also draw into Group A, where it will face Finland (Oct. 15; 4:30 p.m. ET), Kenya (Oct. 17; 2 p.m. ET) and Japan (Oct. 19; 4:10 p.m. ET).
The first IFCPF World Cup to be staged in the United States will feature a combined 20 national teams from six continents. The Men’s competition will feature 12 teams, while the Women’s competition will feature eight teams, marking the largest international tournament field in Women’s CP football history.
Group A
USA
Netherlands
Canada
Scotland
Group B
Brazil
Spain
Australia
Chile
Group C
England
Ireland
Japan
Indonesia
Group A
USA
Japan
Finland
Kenya
Group B
Australia
Netherlands
Ireland
Colombia
In the Women’s competition, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on Oct. 21, with the winners moving on to the 2026 IFCPF Women’s World Cup Final on Oct. 23. Reigning IFCPF Intercontinental Cup champions, the CP WNT won the inaugural IFCPF Women’s World Cup in 2022 and finished as runner-up to Australia in 2024.
In the Men’s competition, the top two teams in each group, plus the two best third-place finishers, will advance to the quarterfinals on Oct. 20. The winners from those matches will contest the semifinals on Oct. 22, leading into the IFCPF Men’s World Cup Final on Oct. 24. Champions of the 2025 IFCPF Copa America, the CP MNT finished seventh at the 2024 IFCPF World Cup and earned a best-ever fourth-place finish at the 2022 edition.
U.S. Soccer has fielded and supported a Men's CP National Team for more than 30 years, with the Women’s CP National team beginning in 2022. As two important parts of U.S. Soccer's Extended National Teams program, the CP National Teams, and by connection, hosting the IFCPF World Cup, all stand in service to soccer in the United States by showcasing both strong National Team environments, but also direct pathway connections to U.S. Soccer membership, namely CP Soccer.
CP Football features athletes with Cerebral Palsy, Stroke or Traumatic Brain Injury. The men’s discipline of the sport is a 7v7 game, played on a field measuring 70 by 50 meters, while the women’s discipline is a 5v5 game, played on a field that is 40 by 27 meters.