FIFA to decide in November on the hosts of the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women's World Cups

FIFA will decide on 23 November on the hosts of the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women's World Cups

FIFA has confirmed that an extraordinary online Congress will be held on 23 November 2026, at which the hosts of the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women's World Cups will be appointed. This is the final point of two separate but connected bidding processes taking place at a time of strong growth in women's football and an announced change to the competition format. For the 2031 edition, the leading role in the only valid bid is held by the U.S. Soccer Federation, with partners from Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, while for the 2035 tournament the only bid is that of the four British football associations: The Football Association, the Irish Football Association of Northern Ireland, the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales.

The decision will be made later than was previously indicated in part of FIFA's documentation, because in November 2025 it was announced that the hosts should be appointed by the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on 30 April 2026. FIFA's latest announcement, connected with the 76th Congress, now states that a special virtual session will be held on Monday, 23 November 2026, precisely for the appointment of the hosts of the 2031 and 2035 editions. This moves the most important decision in the process to a separate date and format, but the basic picture of the bids remains unchanged: for both tournaments FIFA has one joint bid each.

The only bid for 2031 brings together four Concacaf countries

For the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup, a joint bid has been submitted by the United States of America, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. In that application, the USA is the leading host, and the entire project is conceived as a regional competition that would cover North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. Soccer Federation previously confirmed that it is leading the bid together with the Mexican Football Federation, the Costa Rican Football Federation and the Jamaica Football Federation, with the support of the Concacaf confederation.

The bid also has a clear historical framework. The USA has already hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003, and the 1999 tournament remained one of the key chapters in the global popularisation of women's football. Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, according to the available official bid data, would in this project have the opportunity to participate in the organisation of the largest edition of the competition so far. For Costa Rica, the American announcement particularly highlights the experience of organising two FIFA youth women's world championships, in 2014 and 2022.

The U.S. federation also connects the bid with a broader series of major sporting events in the region. The USA, Mexico and Canada are organising the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympic Games in 2028. In that context, the 2031 bid represents an attempt to direct infrastructure, commercial interest and organisational experience towards the further growth of women's football. The bid announcement states that the tournament should attract around 4.5 million fans to stadiums in the four host countries, with an emphasis on stadium capacities, conditions for female athletes and the developmental legacy of the competition.

The 2031 tournament will be the first edition with 48 national teams

The biggest sporting change concerns the competition format. The FIFA Council in May 2025 unanimously decided that the FIFA Women's World Cup will expand from 32 to 48 national teams from 2031. This will bring the women's tournament closer to the format of the expanded men's World Cup, and the number of matches will increase from 64 to 104. According to FIFA, the new edition will be played in 12 groups, and the competition will last one week longer than in the current format.

FIFA explains the expansion by the need for broader global participation and greater investment in women's football. FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated in May 2025 that the decision is not only a matter of adding 16 national teams, but also a way for a larger number of national associations to gain access to the elite competition and an incentive for the development of women's football structures. FIFA also refers to the success of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which, according to its interpretation, showed a higher level of global competitiveness, including victories by national teams from all confederations and the qualification of national teams from five confederations for the knockout phase.

The expansion also creates greater organisational requirements. More national teams mean more accommodation capacities, training camps, logistical routes, security procedures, television operations and official fan areas. That is precisely why FIFA, in the evaluation process, emphasises infrastructure, services, commercial indicators, sustainability and human rights. The formal appointment of the host is not only confirmation of political or sporting will, but also an assessment of whether the applications can meet the technical and operational requirements of a competition that will be significantly larger than all previous editions.

The American bid counts on a continental effect

In the joint announcement by the four associations, it is emphasised that the 2031 bid wants to set a new global standard for women's football and leave a developmental legacy beyond the tournament itself. U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone stressed that the USA is proud to lead the bid with partners from Concacaf and that the project is conceived as a competition that could inspire a new generation of fans and female footballers. Concacaf president and FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani supported the project, describing it as an expression of regional cooperation.

The bid announcement particularly mentions the development of girls and female players, the education of female and male coaches, and investment in infrastructure in association member countries. Such elements are important because FIFA increasingly seeks to ensure that major competitions are not only short-term sporting events, but also a tool for the development of football in host countries and beyond. This, however, does not mean that all details have already been finalised. The final cities and stadiums for the 2031 tournament have not currently been officially named, and the final selection of locations will depend on the further process, technical criteria and FIFA's decisions.

An additional dimension is given to the bid by the fact that the 2031 tournament would be the first FIFA Women's World Cup organised through such broad four-country cooperation. For the USA, this would be the third hosting of the women's World Cup, while the remaining partners would get the opportunity to position themselves more strongly in global women's football. In sporting terms, 48 national teams will open space for a larger number of participants from confederations that have so far found it harder to reach the final tournament, but at the same time it will increase pressure on the quality of qualification systems and the preparation of national associations.

The British bid for 2035 carries the slogan “All Together”

For the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA has received a joint bid from the four British football associations: The Football Association, the Irish Football Association of Northern Ireland, the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales. The British government announced that on 3 April 2025 FIFA confirmed the United Kingdom as the only candidate to host the 2035 tournament, and the joint application was officially submitted on 28 November 2025. Alongside the football associations, support for the project is provided by the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The bid is being presented under the slogan “All Together” and is presented as a project that should include all four football environments. According to the announcement by The Football Association, the application includes 22 proposed stadiums in 16 cities: 16 stadiums in England, three in Wales, two in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. The application also states that 63 million people live within two hours' travel of the proposed locations, by which the organisers want to emphasise transport accessibility and infrastructure density.

The British bid relies on rich experience in organising major football events, but the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup would be the first FIFA World Cup held in the United Kingdom after the men's tournament in 1966. The announcement by The Football Association states that the competition, if confirmed, would be the largest single sporting event held on UK soil, with a projected 4.5 million tickets and a global television audience of around 3.5 billion viewers. The proposed format includes 48 national teams, 104 matches over 39 days, 48 team base camps, 82 training locations connected with stadiums and 32 FIFA Fan Festivals.

FIFA's process emphasises transparency, sustainability and human rights

FIFA has announced a detailed evaluation of the applications in the bidding process for 2031 and 2035. According to the official announcement on the submission of the bid books, the evaluation focuses on the event vision and key indicators, infrastructure, services, commercial aspects, and sustainability and human rights. In the technical part, an objective scoring system is applied for infrastructure and commercial criteria. Such an approach is a continuation of a broader change in the way hosting rights are awarded, because since the decision of the FIFA Congress in 2021, the hosts of future women's World Cups have been chosen by the national associations gathered in Congress, following the model of the process for the men's World Cup.

Although there is only one bid for each edition, the process is not a mere formality. FIFA must assess whether the applications meet the minimum hosting requirements, including stadiums, training centres, transport, accommodation, security, commercial potential and social responsibility. Sustainable event management and respect for human rights are particularly highlighted, themes that in recent years have become an integral part of the assessment of major international sporting competitions. In practice, this means that bids must show not only the ability to sell tickets and organise matches, but also plans for social impact, accessibility, labour standards and legacy after the end of the tournament.

The change in the date of the final decision additionally emphasises that FIFA wants to separate the process from the regular congress agenda. The extraordinary online Congress on 23 November 2026 will be focused precisely on appointing the hosts of the two future editions. In this way, FIFA's member associations will decide on the hosting rights for a period that will mark the largest expansion of the women's World Cup since its foundation. Until then, the key questions will remain connected with the final evaluation of the bids, possible adjustments to the plans and confirmation that the proposed countries can deliver competitions with 48 national teams.

The broader picture: women's football is entering a new commercial and sporting phase

The decision on the 2031 and 2035 hosts comes in a period in which FIFA is openly seeking to increase the commercial value and global reach of women's football. After the tournament in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, Brazil will in 2027 be the first South American host of the FIFA Women's World Cup. Four years later, the competition should move to the expanded format, and commercial models for future editions are already being prepared, including catering and hospitality programmes for the 2027 and 2031 tournaments.

Such development opens great opportunities, but also serious questions. A larger number of national teams can increase global representation and create an incentive for investment in countries that until now have not had a permanent place at final tournaments. At the same time, differences in investment, the professionalisation of leagues and the quality of infrastructure among continents remain large. The expansion will therefore be successful only if it is accompanied by long-term development programmes, better-quality qualifications, better conditions for female players and sustainable models of financing women's football.

For FIFA, the selection of the 2031 and 2035 hosts will be a signal of how it imagines the next decade of women's football. The bid led by the USA emphasises regional Concacaf connectivity, great commercial potential and reliance on the legacy of major sporting events in North America. The British bid for 2035 highlights stadium accessibility, a strong football tradition and the ambition to organise a FIFA world tournament at that level again after 1966. Both applications, if confirmed by Congress, will become a key test of whether an expanded FIFA Women's World Cup can simultaneously be a larger, more accessible and higher-quality competition.

Sources:
- FIFA – confirmation that the extraordinary online Congress for appointing the 2031 and 2035 hosts will be held on 23 November 2026 (link)
- FIFA – announcement on the submission of bid books for the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women's World Cups (link)
- FIFA – decision of the FIFA Council on expanding the FIFA Women's World Cup to 48 national teams from 2031 (link)
- U.S. Soccer – official presentation of the joint bid by the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica for 2031 (link)
- Government of the United Kingdom – overview of the British bid for the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup (link)
- The FA – official announcement of the “All Together” bid for the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup (link)