The 2023 edition of FIFA Women’s World Cup has only recently ended and football enthusiasts are already thinking about the next one.
The first one was held in China in 1991, and the United States came out on top. After multiple unofficial World Cups were conducted from 1970 onwards, the 1991 event was the first to receive official status from FIFA.
Five teams have won the Women's World Cup so far: the United States, Germany, Japan, Norway and now Spain. The most titles are held by the US, with four in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019.
When will the next World Cup be?
The FIFA Women’s World Cup, a quadrennial international women’s football championship played by the national teams of FIFA member countries, will take place for the tenth time in 2027.
The exact date is not yet known.
Who will host 2027 World Cup?
FIFA has stated that four bids have formally expressed interest in hosting the event and that it will be the most comprehensive bidding process in the history of the competition.
Due to their proximity, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands have joined forces on a single ticket.
Likewise, the USA, Mexico, and Canada, who will host the 2026 edition of the Men's World Cup, have teamed up.
The final two offers come from South Africa and Brazil.
The bids from each of the four bidders must be submitted to FIFA by December 8, 2023. After that is over, FIFA will look towards finding a suitable host.
The official host will be announced in May 2024.
How many teams will there be?
The tournament was expanded to 32 national teams in 2019, the same amount of teams will be expected for 2027.
The current 2023 edition marks the first time that 32 teams have participated in the Women's World Cup; the previous two editions only included 24 teams, while previous editions featured even fewer.
The format is an identical replica of what has been utilised since 1998 for the Men's World Cup.
What else do we know?
With at least 11 teams competing at the World Cup, Europe will be the continent with the greatest representation. Ten teams will compete in a playoff round to determine three teams.
Due to its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is prohibited from the qualification round.
If the joint bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands wins, it could bring the World Cup back to Europe, which would be the fourth time the World Cup has been hosted in Europe.
Sweden, Germany and France have all been previous hosts.
England is also interested in hosting a future Women’s World Cup. However, it might not happen for a while because England has placed a bid to host the Euro 2028. Countries from the same confederations are not permitted to host subsequent competitions.
The FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: “We’ve put a bid in for Euro 2028, and that’s obviously a big commitment.
“We would love to host a Women’s World Cup one day, don’t get any doubt on that, we’d love to do that. If you look at the landscape, you’ve got Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands bidding for 2027. If they’re successful, there wouldn’t be a European bidder for 2031.
“If they aren’t successful, ’31 becomes a possibility. Maybe they go again, maybe there is an opportunity for us to look at that.”
