2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bids
Football World Cup host nation bids
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The 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bidding process is the process used by FIFA to select the host for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Brazil won the hosting rights on 17 May 2024.[1]
Host selection
On 23 March 2023 FIFA launched the bidding process for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.[2] The key dates include:[3]
- 21 April 2023: Member associations to submit their expressions of interest to host the 2027 Women's World Cup
- 19 May 2023: Member associations to confirm their interest in bidding to host the Women's World Cup by submitting the bidding agreement
- August 2023: Bid workshop and observer programme to take place during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
- 8 December 2023: Member associations to submit their bids to FIFA
- February 2024: FIFA to organise on-site inspection visits to bidding countries
- 7 May 2024: Publication of FIFA's bid evaluation report[4]
- 2nd quarter: Designation of bids by the FIFA Council
- 26 June 2024: Appointment of the 2027 Women's World Cup host(s) by the FIFA Congress in Bangkok[5]
Bids
FIFA received three bids to host the tournament upon their 8 December 2023 submission deadline: a joint bid from the German, Royal Belgian, and Royal Dutch Football Associations, a sole bid from the Brazilian Football Confederation, and a joint bid from the Mexican and United States Soccer Federations.[6][7][8] The Mexico–United States bid was withdrawn prior to the appointment of host(s) on 17 May 2024.[9][10]
Belgium–Germany–Netherlands
On 19 October 2020, the football associations of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands announced their intention to jointly bid for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.[11] The intention is for the three countries to make further agreements about the organization before the end of this year and to record this in a covenant.[12] Belgium and the Netherlands jointly hosted the UEFA European Championship in 2000, with Belgium having previously hosted in 1972. Germany hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011 and the UEFA European Women's Championship in 2001. Germany also hosted the FIFA Men's World Cup in 1974 and 2006, the men's Euro in 1988, and will do so again in 2024. Germany and the Netherlands co-hosted several matches in the multi-national UEFA Euro 2020. The Netherlands hosted the Women's Euro in 2017. The host cities of Germany are Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf and Cologne, all in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.[13] The Dutch host cities are Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Enschede, Heerenveen and Rotterdam.[14] The Belgian host cities are Genk, Anderlecht, Gent and Charleroi.[15]
Brazil
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), along with Rio de Janeiro city, have expressed interest in participating in the election for the 2027 World Cup.[16] The country was already one of the finalists for the 2023 edition, but had to withdraw its candidacy due to the lack of support from the federal government, in addition to the financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] The project is part of a study carried out by the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCV), which also makes possible other events with Olympic sports and FIFA tournaments in Rio de Janeiro until 2033, including the 2031 Pan American Games, using the city again as host (since it hosted the competition in 2007), reusing the structures used in the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.[18][19] The country has twice hosted the men's version of the World Cup, in 1950 and 2014, in addition to the 2013 Confederations Cup.[citation needed]
On 1 March 2023, the city of São Paulo expressed interest in participating in the election with Rio de Janeiro, offering the Arena Corinthians and Allianz Parque to receive the matches.[20] The next day, CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues sent a letter to FIFA, confirming the country's intention to compete in the 2027 World Cup. Other Brazilian cities can also participate in the project, as the event involves the entire country.[21] On 7 March the Brazilian Minister of Sports, Ana Moser, confirmed the country's bid to host the tournament.[22] Then, the cities of Salvador, Brasília, Cuiabá, Belém, Manaus and Fortaleza also offered to host the World Cup in an event on SAFs and the football capital market, organized by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) on 11 March. Among the capitals that offered, only Belém did not host the last men's World Cup in the country in 2014, losing its place to Manaus.[23]
On 28 September 2023, the CBF confirmed the cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador as the capitals that will make up the official Brazilian candidacy document, with Belém leaving the project and the inclusion of the capital of Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, increasing the number of candidates for the World Cup to ten. The locations are similar to those of the 2014 men's edition, but without the inclusion of Curitiba and Natal.[24] The plan also foresees the opening match at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha and the final at Maracanã, while in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and São Paulo, there was an uncertainty between two stadiums. In the capital of Minas Gerais, the dispute would be between Mineirão and Arena MRV, while in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul the dispute is between Estádio Beira-Rio and Arena do Grêmio and in the Brazilian megalopolis the dispute is between Neo Química Arena and Allianz Parque, with Mineirão, Beira Rio and Neo Química Arena being the favorite stadiums for having hosted the men's version games in 2014.[25] A successful bid would be South America's first time hosting the Women's World Cup.
Evaluation report
On 7 May 2024, 10 days before the vote, the evaluation report was released. Brazil's bid was deemed to have better stadiums while the European bid promised a compact tournament. Overall, Brazil's bid scored higher than the European bid.[4]
Evaluation score
| Bidding nation(s) | Evaluation score |
|---|---|
 Brazil |
4/5 |
 Belgium,  Germany and  Netherlands |
3.7/5 |
Host selection
On 17 May 2024 in Bangkok during the 74th FIFA Congress, FIFA announced that Brazil would become the 2027 Women's World Cup host, making this the first FIFA Women's World Cup in both South America and Latin America.[26][27]
Voting
| Nation | Vote | |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | ||
| Brazil |
119 | |
| Belgium, Germany and Netherlands |
78 | |
| None of the bids | 3 | |
| Abstentions | 7 | |
| Total votes | 207 | |
| Majority required | 104 | |
2027 Women's World Cup host election results
| Allowed to vote | Banned from voting |
|---|---|
Voted for Brazilian bid | Brazil |
Voted for BNG bid | Belgium–Germany–Netherlands |
Voted for neither | Not a FIFA member |
Abstained from voting |
The voting took place on 17 May 2024, during the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok,[28] and it was open to all 207 eligible members.[a]
The Brazil bid won receiving 119 votes, while the Belgium–Germany–Netherlands bid received 78 votes. No representative within their home confederation CONMEBOL voted against the Brazil bid whilst two representatives within their home confederation UEFA voted against the Belgium–Germany–Netherlands bid. Curaçao, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Namibia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Togo abstained while Norway and the Philippines were unable to vote due to technical difficulties and Libya did not vote for either bid.
Election results by association
Withdrawn bids and other expressions of interest
Mexico–United States joint bid
U.S. Soccer presidents Carlos Cordeiro and Cindy Parlow Cone made hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup a priority during their respective administrations, focusing on potential bids for the 2027 and 2031 editions.[29][30][31] Concurrently, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) expressed an interest in hosting the 2027 edition.[32] The two federations allied, announcing in April 2023 their intention to submit a join bid to host the 2027 edition.[33]
Taking place after the 2026 Men's World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States,[34] they planned to host the tournament across sixteen venues: ten of the United States' eleven 2026 stadiums sans SoFi Stadium, which was replaced by the Rose Bowl, and all three of Mexico's 2026 stadiums in addition to the Estadio Corregidora and Estadio León.[35][36] While the FMF and U.S. Soccer were one of three parties to submit a bid for the tournament,[7][8] projecting revenues exceeding US$3 billion,[37] they withdrew in April 2024, just weeks before the host selection, refocusing their efforts on a bid to host the 2031 edition instead.[9][10]
Chile
After the successful participation at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, then-sports minister Pauline Kantor, announced the intention to propose a bid for 2027 edition. To enhance the bid, Chile officially made its women's domestic league fully professional after 2022–23 season, with the first professional season played in 2023.[38] Chile have hosted numerous FIFA tournaments, including: 1962 FIFA World Cup, 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Chile also hosted the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago. Chile will host the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[39]
Italy
On 17 February 2021, President of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, hinted that Italy might seek to host the 2027 Women's World Cup, and has underlined a prolonged plan to improve the status of women's football in Italy, including the professionalisation of the Serie A from autumn 2022 and finally making Italian female footballers full time professionals.[40]
Nordic bid
The Nordic countries (Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) once expressed interest in a combined bid to host the World Cup on 22 February 2019.[41][42] Sweden is the only Nordic nation to host the senior World Cup, with the 1958 FIFA World Cup and the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup being in Sweden, becoming the first country to host both men's and women's World Cups. In June 2019, the Nordic Council declared its support.[43][44]
South Africa
Motivated by the success of the country's recent participation in FIFA women's tournaments, the South African Football Association (SAFA) previously submitted a bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, but withdrew its bid in December 2019. SAFA CEO Hay Mokoena stated that South Africa would consider bidding for 2027 after the women's league and national team become more competitive. South Africa has hosted the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup and could use the infrastructure that was built for the tournament.[45] In September 2022, South Africa announced its bid to host the 2027 women's edition.[46] A successful bid would be Africa's first time hosting the Women's World Cup. They sought to host the tournament in eight of the ten venues used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld Stadium, being replaced by the Orlando Stadium and Griqua Park.[47]
After violence and gunshots during the 2022–23 SAFA Second Division playoffs, SAFA expressed concern about the impact of the violence on the bid.[48]
On 24 November 2023, SAFA decided to withdraw its bid to host the tournament and instead focus on submitting a bid for the 2031 tournament.[49]
Notes
- The four bidding nations, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands were ineligible to vote.
- A technical issue was experienced by the Philippines Football Federation that resulted in their inability to cast their vote
- The Norwegian Football Federation experienced a technical issue that resulted in the inability to cast their vote, and had they been able to submit such vote, Norway would have submitted a vote for the BNG.