FIP World Cup Qualifiers Europe. ‘Road to Doha’ makes a stop in Madrid: race for four World Cup places begins

• The Madrid tournament will award two places in the men’s draw and two in the women’s draw for the final stage, to be held in Qatar from 2 to 7 November.
• Once the Spanish stage has concluded, the final two available qualification spots will be awarded from 26 to 30 October at the FIP World Cup Qualifiers Asia-Africa in Kuwait.

 

MADRID – The road to the World Cup in Doha, scheduled from 2 to 7 November, runs through Europe. Following the Asunción event in August for the South American teams, the qualifying stage now moves to Spain. From 22 to 26 September, Madrid hosts the FIP World Cup Qualifiers-Europe, with 27 men’s and 20 women’s national teams set to compete for a place at the FIP World Cup 2026. Four places are available: two in the men’s competition and two in the women’s.

 

Action gets under way today, 22 September, on the courts of Madrid club ‘Padel G24’, with 19 group-stage matches spread across the two sessions of Day 1. The first three days will be dedicated to the qualifying groups. From Friday 25 September, the competition will enter its decisive phase with the start of the knockout stage.

 

MEN  The 27 national teams have been divided into eight groups. At the end of the group stage, the group winners will progress to the knockout stage, where two places at the FIP World Cup 2026 will be at stake. At the end of the knockout stage, two European national teams will therefore secure their place in Doha. Here is the list of groups:

 

Group A: Netherlands, Estonia, Azerbaijan

Group B: Germany, Lithuania, Georgia

Group C: Great Britain, Moldova, Austria

Group D: Bulgaria, Norway, Finland

Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Türkiye

Group F: Romania, Ukraine, Greece, Czech Republic

Group G: Cyprus, Denmark, Croatia, Serbia

Group H: Ireland, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland

 

WOMEN  In the women’s competition, the 20 national teams have been divided into six groups. Here too, the winner of each group will progress to the knockout stage. The winners of Groups A and B, which include the competition’s leading seeds, will receive a bye and progress directly to the next round. At the end of the knockout stage, two European national teams will secure their place in Doha. Here is the list of groups:

 

Group A: Great Britain, Serbia, Norway

Group B: Germany, Türkiye, Hungary

Group C: Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic

Group D: Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland

Group E: Georgia, Ukraine, Romania and Croatia

Group F: Slovenia, Greece, Ireland, Bulgaria

 

The Madrid stage represents another key step in determining the line-up of national teams that will travel to Doha. Once the European event has concluded, the FIP World Cup Qualifiers Africa-Asia, scheduled to take place in Kuwait from 26 to 30 October, will award the final two available places: one in the men’s competition and one in the women’s.

 

A total of 32 national teams, 16 men’s and 16 women’s, will participate in the FIP World Cup 2026. In both draws, ten places have already been allocated: nine to the national teams with the highest finishing positions at the FIP World Padel Championship 2024 and one to the host country, Qatar. The qualifying stage concluded in Toronto produced the first results on court: Mexico in the men’s competition and the USA in both categories will travel to Doha. Then, in the second round in Asunción, Paraguay in both categories and Chile in the women’s competition secured their place in Qatar.

 

The teams already qualified for the FIP World Cup 2026:

 

MEN: Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, France, Chile, Sweden, USA, Mexico, Paraguay and Qatar.

 

WOMEN: Spain, Argentina, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Brazil, Belgium, USA, Paraguay, Chile and Qatar.