Packages

Please find below package prices excluding accommodation for the 2026 TWFC:

About The Tournament

The Transplant Football World Cup is an international football competition specifically created for athletes who have undergone organ transplantation.

The tournament highlights the achievements of transplant recipients and demonstrates the life-saving impact of organ donation.

The first edition took place in Cervia, Italy in 2024. The 2026 edition in Frankfurt aims to further expand the global transplant sports community.

TFWC Frankfurt 2026 — Tournament Schedule

1.  Format Overview

15 teams, 3 groups of 5 (A, B, C). Round-robin group stage, followed by an 8-team Championship Knockout, a 9th–12th placement bracket, and a 13th–15th mini round-robin. In addition, 6 women’s matches (2 each on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) and 2 doctors’ team show matches run alongside the main draw. The Final is played as a standalone match.

Total: 53 matches over 5 days (45 competitive + 6 women’s + 2 show matches).

2.  Quarter-Final Pairing Rule

Two principles govern the Quarter-Final draw, in this order of priority:

1. Group winners are rewarded: no group winner may face another group winner in the Quarter-Finals. Winners play the weakest possible opponents — a qualified 3rd-placed team where available, at most a group runner-up.
2. No group rematches: no team may face a team from its own group in the Quarter-Finals.

Define the reference group (R) as the group whose 3rd-placed team does not qualify among the two best third-placed teams (R contributes only its group winner R1 and runner-up R2). Of the two groups that do send their 3rd-placed team through, define X as the group whose qualified third ranks higher in the Section 3 comparison, and Y as the other. X and Y each contribute 3 teams: X1, X2, X3 and Y1, Y2, Y3.

Why these pairings are largely forced: with only 2 qualified thirds for 3 group winners, exactly one winner must face a runner-up. X1 cannot play X3 (same group), so X1 must play Y3; likewise Y1 must play X3. The winner facing a runner-up is necessarily R1 (its own group’s third did not qualify), and R1 cannot play R2 (same group) — so R1 plays X2 or Y2.

Assigning X2 vs Y2: R1 plays Y2 — the runner-up from the group whose qualified third ranked lower. Rationale: group X already benefits most from the draw (its third ranked best), so its runner-up X2 takes the runner-up-vs-runner-up tie against R2, while Y2 faces group winner R1.

Verification: no winner faces a winner (X1–Y3, Y1–X3, R1–Y2 — all winners face a third or a runner-up); no pairing repeats a group (all four ties are cross-group); the two qualified 3rd-placed teams face the two group winners X1 and Y1 — the reward for winning the group is the easiest available Quarter-Final. From the semi-finals onward, winner-vs-winner ties become possible, which is standard.

Example: if the 3rd-placed teams of groups A and B qualify (so C is the reference group R), and A’s third ranks higher than B’s (so X = A, Y = B): QF1 = A1–B3, QF2 = B1–A3, QF3 = C1–B2, QF4 = A2–C2.

Note on byes: no team receives a bye into the Championship Knockout based on group-stage performance. With limited data to reliably rank team strength across groups, every team earns its placement — including 13th–15th — by playing, rather than by a seeding-based bye.

3.  Ranking the Three 3rd-Placed Teams (Rules Appendix 2026)

The Championship Quarter-Finals require the 2 best of the 3 group 3rd-placed teams (Section 1). The following criteria are established in the official Rules Appendix for 2026 and apply in this exact order — each subsequent criterion is used only if all previous criteria are exactly equal:

Fair Play Scale (Criterion 4)

The team with the fewest deduction points across its 4 group matches wins this comparison.

4.  Ranking 5th–8th Place (Losing Quarter-Finalists)

Positions 5 to 8 are held by the four losing quarter-finalists and are not decided through additional placement matches. These positions are ranked by the following criteria, in this order:

5.  Match Duration & Buffers

Standard matches have a playing time of 2 x 20 minutes (running clock) + 10-minute half-time = 50 minutes net — this also applies to the doctors’ show matches. Women’s matches use a shorter format: 2 x 15 minutes + 10-minute half-time = 40 minutes total and a smaler field. There is no extra time at any stage of the competition: if a knockout match is level after regular time, it goes straight to a penalty shoot-out taken from the 9-metre mark (small-sided pitch; 3 kicks per team, then sudden death).

6.  Groups + Day-by-Day Schedule

Groups (drawn 20 August 2026, Frankfurt)

Monday — Group Stage (Rounds 1–2 for A & B, Round 1 for C)

Tuesday — Group Stage (Rounds 2–3 for C, Rounds 3–4 for A, Round 3 for B)

Wednesday — Group Stage + Women’s Matches 1 & 2

Thursday — Placement Rounds, Women’s Matches 3 & 4, Championship Quarter-Finals,

Friday — Final, 3rd-Place Play-off, Semi-Finals, Women’s Matches 5 & 6, Show Match 2

Exception: The 3rd-Place Play-off starts at 12:30 — the losing semi-finalists (semi-finals end 09:10 incl. buffer) receive 3h20 instead of the standard 4h.

Accommodation

Accommodation will be booked separately.

Includes breakfast. Please note that an additional tourist tax of €2 per person, per night applies.

TO VIEW ALL THE INFORMATION AROUND ALL THE HOTELS AVAILABLE, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Event Sponsors

Host City

Participants with teams from all over the world can look forward to unforgettable days in Frankfurt from September 13th to 18th, 2026. In addition to an emotional opening ceremony, there will be a cultural evening and a closing ceremony the day before departure. The detailed program and the match schedule will be announced soon.

For more information about Frankfurt, view this link and remember to select your preferred language to scroll through the images: Click here

Getting There

Frankfurt is a premier European transport hub, making it incredibly easy to reach from anywhere in the world:

• By Plane: 
  • Opt 1: Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) is one of the world’s major aviation hubs, offering direct flights from almost every continent.  From FRA to Frankfurt Main Train Station = 12 – 15 minutes by tube. FRA to Hotels in Ostend = 30-40 minutes by tube
  • Opt 2: QEF (Frankfurt -Egelsbach) – From QEF to Frankfurt Main Train Station = 30 – 45 minutes by tube
  • Opt 3: HHN (Frankfurt – Hahn) – From HHN to Frankfurt Main Train Station = 2 hours by direct bus. (this route is not recommended)
• By Train: Frankfurt Central Station and the Airport Long-Distance Station connect the city seamlessly to the European high-speed network (ICE/TGV)—perfect for quick trips from major European cities.
• By Car & Bus: Located at the “Frankfurter Kreuz” (the intersection of the A3 and A5 motorways), Frankfurt is easily accessible from all over Europe by car or long-distance bus.