Baku, Azerbaijan has become, for one extraordinary week, the centre of the footballing world.

The inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival™, a competition featuring 189 Member Associations (MAs), players from every continent, and close to 1,000 matches will end on Friday 30 October with the final games. For many of the young players walking into the Athletes’ Village, this is not simply a tournament. It is their first encounter with the world.

The idea is disarmingly simple: football is for everyone, everywhere. Yet its realisation is historic. Of the 189 MAs represented, 78 – some 37% of FIFA’s membership – are making their debut in a FIFA World Cup™ competition. For nations whose football stories are rarely told on the global stage, the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026 offers something more valuable than a trophy; it offers visibility, belonging and the chance to dream without permission.

“This is a dream that comes true,” said Roberto Grassi, FIFA’s Head of Youth Tournaments. “They always see the (FIFA) World Cup only on TV. For them, it is really a dream that comes true, and we are very happy to be here with them to make their dreams come true.”

A journey built by one man

Among the thousands of young footballers in Baku, few journeys capture the spirit of the tournament better than that of Sunil Damai.

The Nepalese midfielder’s route to the world stage began far from the floodlights of an international tournament – in Martadi, in Nepal’s remote Bajura district. There was no proper pitch, little family support and no obvious pathway to professional football. What there was, however, was an uncle who believed in him.

“I loved to play football from a very young age,” Damai said. “From a very young age, I never thought I would make this journey.”

He credits his uncle Dhurba Rokaya with changing the direction of his life. When Damai needed to travel to Kanchanpur for a district-level trial, Rokaya covered the costs. Raniban Sports Club also supported him. From there, Damai earned a place in the U-13 squad of the All Nepal Football Association, then worked his way into the U-15 team.

“My family wouldn’t allow me to go out and play, but I’ve had to escape and try to play here and there,” he recalled. “Though we didn’t have a pitch to play on, I taught myself to play and finally got selected for the U-13s.”

The moment he first pulled on Nepal’s shirt remains vivid.

Different stories, different worlds

Damai’s story is one of several in Baku that show why this tournament matters. Zayden Brown, a centre-back from Montserrat, speaks with the mixture of disbelief and pride that only a first global stage can create.

“It’s amazing. To be part of history is just, like, crazy,” he said. “I have so many stories to tell after this is over.”

For Brown, representing Montserrat carries a particular responsibility. Small nations are often overlooked, their players underestimated before a ball is even kicked. He wants to change that perception – not through grand promises, but through performances.

“Being the smallest (nation), everyone kind of underestimates you,” he explained. “So, when you go out there and play, you kind of want to shock people and show that we can play football in Montserrat, and we want to represent our country well.”

His ambition is equally direct: “By the end of this tournament, I want people to know that I’m a great centre-back and just a good person overall.”

For South Sudan midfielder Jackson Tong, the Festival’s meaning lies as much in its human encounters as in its football. In Baku, children who may never have met someone from another continent are sharing pitches, meals, languages and laughter.

He has even picked up a phrase or two along the way. “I have learned to say, ¿Cómo estás? or something like that,” he said, smiling at the difficulty of remembering them all.

For Tong, wearing South Sudan’s colours is not an abstract honour. It is a personal triumph, achieved from among millions who share the same dream.

“Out of millions of people who are willing to represent their badge, I was selected and I became one of the representatives of South Sudanese children,” he said. “For me, it is a dream and I feel excited and I’m proud of it.”

Then comes the most human sentence of all: “If I could dedicate a goal at this tournament, it would be to my mother.”

More than a competition

The FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival is deliberately structured to maximise participation rather than eliminate young players early. Its 8v8 format, shorter matches and tiered competition give teams repeated opportunities to play, learn and develop, rather than sending them home after one defeat.

That design reflects the philosophy behind FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme: talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Baku is an attempt to correct that imbalance – to ensure that a boy from remote Nepal, a centre-back from Montserrat and a midfielder from South Sudan can stand on the same international stage as players from football’s traditional powerhouses.

When the final whistle blows on the last day, there will be winners. But the deeper achievement may already have been secured: 78 nations have stepped onto FIFA’s World Cup stage for the first time, hundreds of children have left home for the first time, and thousands have discovered that the world is larger – and closer – than they imagined.

Giving every talent a chance is no longer merely a slogan. In Baku, it has a face, a shirt, a country – and a dream.