Fifa announce brand new competition is set to start in days – but fans have probably never heard of it

FIFA have announced a brand-new international competition that is set to start in just days.

The Fifa Series will see international teams from different federations take each other on during the next international break.

What makes the matches different is that the teams would not usually face each other as they would be unlikely to qualify for a major tournament or face each other in qualifiers.

The friendlies will also take part in one host nation with Fifa hoping that it will “allow more international football interaction, making a concrete contribution to global football development”.

The event will be piloted later this month with 20 teams being placed into five different groups of four.

Two groups will play in Saudi Arabia, while one will be each of Algeria, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka.

Three teams from Uefa will be involved as Andorra takes on Algeria, Bolivia and South Africa.

Whereas Azerbaijan will host Bulgaria, Mongolia and Tanzania.

Fans will be keen to see how the international minnows match up against each other.

It will also be interesting to see sides like Andorra play with more chances of picking up a win.

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Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: “The Fifa Series is a really positive step forward for national-team football at global level.

“Our member associations have been telling us for a long time now of their desire to test themselves against their counterparts from all around the world.

“And now they can do so within the current Men’s International Match Calendar.

“More meaningful matches will enable far more valuable footballing interaction for players, teams and fans, and will make a concrete contribution to the development of the game.”

The first matches for the tournament kick off on March 21.

In the opening round, fans will be able to see the likes of South Africa vs Andorra, Guinea vs Vanuatu and Cape Verde vs Guyana.