Dakar 2026: Ukraine’s women’s futsal team has found out who their opponents will be at the Youth Olympic Games

The futsal tournament will be the longest-running event at these Games and, for the first time in history, will be held with complete gender parity among the participants. Sixteen national teams (eight boys’ teams and eight girls’ teams) will take part in the competition, comprising 160 athletes aged between 14 and 16. 

The draw for the women’s tournament was conducted by Seini Ndir Sek, a prominent figure in Senegalese women’s football. 

As a result, the Ukrainian team has been drawn into Group A, where they will compete for a place in the play-offs against the tournament hosts, as well as representatives from Oceania and South America.

Women’s tournament – Group A:

• Senegal

• Fiji

• Colombia

• Ukraine

Group B will feature the national teams of Italy, Cameroon, Costa Rica and Iran.

The futsal tournament will run from 1 to 12 November 2026 and will consist of a total of 32 matches (16 matches for the women’s teams and the same number for the men’s teams). The group stage matches will be hosted by the ‘Complexe Iba Mar Diop’, whilst the semi-finals and medal matches will take place at the ‘Dakar Arena’. The girls’ teams will kick off the Games’ futsal programme.

The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, which will run from 31 October to 13 November 2026, will be the first Olympic event on the African continent.

We wish the future Olympians all the best in their preparations!