As the number of women’s world cup hosts increased from 32 to 48 on Thursday, it appeared that the United States and the United Kingdom would be selected by FIFA for the upcoming tournament.
A first deadline to enter the race has passed, and they intend to bid for the 2031 and 2035 editions, respectively, leaving them alone in the competition. By the end of April, the first official bid paperwork need to be signed.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino informed European soccer executives that the U.S. was the only country to exhibit interest in hosting the 2031 tournament, with the possibility of additional CONCACAF nations joining the initiative. Mexico would probably be included in that long-promised proposal.
“We look forward to sharing more details and unveiling our full vision for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the near future,” the U.S. Soccer Federation stated.
At UEFA’s annual conference in Belgrade, Serbia, Infantino stated that FIFA has only one “valid bid” from the British member federations, with England as the focal point, to host the 2035 event.
“Hosting the first FIFA World Cup since 1966 with our home nations partners will be very special,” English FA CEO Mark Bullingham stated. “The hard work starts now, to put together the best possible bid by the end of the year.”
When FIFA announced last month that it was formally seeking applications from member federations, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer swiftly endorsed the U.K.’s interest.
FIFA disqualified Europe from the 2031 competition, paving the path for the long-awaited American victory.
In a rerun of the co-hosting strategy for the men’s 2030 World Cup, Spanish soccer officials stated this week that they planned to bid, perhaps alongside Portugal and Morocco.
It remained unclear why Spain failed to indicate interest in bidding by the FIFA deadline on Monday.
Infantino’s remarks during the UEFA annual conference appeared to rule out a proposal from Spain being accepted at this time.
“So the path is there for the Women’s World Cup to be taking place in ’31 and ’35 in some great countries,” the FIFA president stated, “to boost even more the women’s football movement.”
Next year’s Women’s World Cup hosts will be confirmed by FIFA. Brazil is hosting the 32-team 2027 tournament.
For the first time since the 2003 tournament, the Women’s World Cup would be held in the United States. In 1999, the United States hosted as well.
England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland will co-host the men’s Euro 2028. In 2022, England hosted the Women’s European Championship, which the home team won.
Women’s soccer at the 2028 Summer Olympics in LA
Infantino explained FIFA’s intention to have more women’s teams than men’s at the upcoming Olympics, which would further support women’s soccer.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, there were only 12 teams in the women’s competition and 16 in the men’s.
Adding four more women’s teams, along with roughly 70 additional players and team officials, would exceed the agreed-upon athlete quotas for organizers in Los Angeles, despite the International Olympic Committee’s strong support for gender equality at the games.
FIFA’s latest idea, according to Infantino on Thursday, is to reverse the numbers so that there are 12 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams competing in the events.
The IOC will make the ultimate decision during its executive board meeting on Wednesday.
This information has been sourced from abcactionnews.
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