SEATTLE - The FIFA Women's World Cup will head to South America for the first time ever after Brazil was chosen to be the host of the 10th edition of the tournament.
After the United States and Mexico announced on April 30 that they were pulling out of the race to host the 2027 edition, only two bids remained, with Brazil competing against a joint-European bid between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Colombia and Brazil had submitted bids to host the 2023 Women's World Cup, with the event ultimately going to Australia and New Zealand. Brazil ended up withdrawing from the voting due to lack of support from the federal government and problems with handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it was different this time around. During the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, the Brazilian bid received 119 of the 207 votes, ahead of the 78 received by Belgium-Netherlands-Germany. It was the first time FIFA's Congress voted on the hosts for a women's tournament, as previous hosts were decided based on voting from the FIFA Council.
In FIFA's Bid Evaluation Report, Brazil received a higher overall score (4.0/5.0) than its European counterpart (3.7/5.0). Although dates for the 2027 Women's World Cup haven't been confirmed, FIFA has made space between May and July 2027 for the tournament to take place. It means, Brazil will have some 37 months to prepare.
According to the Brazilian bid, the games will be staged using the countries best stadiums, "because that's what the players deserve." The cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiabá, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo will serve as hosts, and most of the stadiums used for the 2014 men's World Cup will be used for the women's tournament too.
It will be the third time Brazil hosts a World Cup after the 1950 and 2014 editions on the men's side. The final, predictably, will be played at the legendary Estadio Jornalista Mário Filho, commonly known as the Maracanã. The Brazilian soccer cathedral will join the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm and the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California as the only stadiums in the world to host both men's and women's World Cup finals.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino closed his speech with congratulating Brazil and also hinted at the idea of expanding the Women's World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, just like the men's tournament as of 2026. "Let me again congratulate Brazil for being the host of the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup," Infantino said. "And in the euphoria of the discussion, somebody told me, 'Well we should think for the future -- not for '27, but for the future -- to increase as well the number of teams for the Women's World Cup from 32 to 48, like we did for the men. More participants, more unity, more people happy. Well, let's see, let's see."
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