The joint bid by the United States and Mexico to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup is one of three remaining, after South Africa withdrew in November and opted to focus on landing the event in 2031. The other contenders? A joint bid by Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and a solo bid by Brazil. FIFA plans to make on-site visits in February 2024, with the host to be named in May.
That means North America could become, as Front Office Sports speculates, the “new home for soccer.”
“Should the U.S. and Mexico secure the 2027 Women’s World Cup, that would set up a two-year run of FIFA’s top international events in North America, bookended by the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S. and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,” the website notes. “The U.S. will also host the 2024 Copa America, featuring top national teams from both North and South America.”
Plus, don’t forget the United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Observers in soccer-crazed countries like the U.K. are taking notice. The Daily Mail proclaimed South Africa’s withdrawal gives the US-Mexico Women’s World Cup bid a “HUGE boost” and stated that that “no country has hosted a men’s and women’s World Cup in consecutive years.” Additionally, the U.S. and China have each hosted the Women’s World Cup twice; a winning bid for 2027 would give the U.S. the new record.
Mexico has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, “but the recent growth of the Liga MX Femenil has been wildly impressive in terms of attendance, fan attention and quality of play on the field,” as a press release from the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Mexican Football Federation stated announcing the joint 2027 bid. “Between the United States and Mexico, including 2026, the two countries will have hosted matches in seven combined Women’s and Men’s World Cups. Mexico also hosted the 1983 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which it won on home soil.”
“The United States has always been a global leader for the women’s game, and we would be honored to co-host the world’s premier event for women’s soccer along with Mexico,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone, who played in two Women’s World Cups and was a key part of the USA’s 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship, said at the time. “Hosting the 2027 Women’s World Cup provides us an incredible opportunity to cap off two historic years of World Cup soccer in the Concacaf region, helping us continue to grow the game among our confederation associations.”
“Women’s football in Mexico has experienced sustained growth over the last five years and its development, both on and off the field, coupled with the female empowerment it has achieved and will continue to achieve, is one of the strategic priorities of the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF),” added Yon de Luisa, president of the FMF.
Securing the next Women’s World Cup, however, won’t be without challenges.
“There are still some obstacles in the way of a World Cup being played in the U.S. and Mexico. The World Cup has never been hosted by a South American country, making Brazil a high-quality bidder for the tournament. Germany hosted a World Cup in 2011 and splitting the games between three countries would provide the infrastructure needed for the tournament,” JustWomensSports.com reports, before adding to the speculation of why North America’s bid could succeed. “The 2023 World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand was the first of the women’s tournaments to be held in two countries. The United States and Mexico would be pulling for a similar bid. And with a new head coach at the helm and a new-look team, the U.S. could host a new generation of national and international talent.”
Final bids for the 2027 Women’s World Cup were submitted by Dec. 8. FIFA’s website has all the details about the bidding process.
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