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The Women’s World Cup is on its way back to the United States.
FIFA has confirmed that the USA will host the event in 2031, with the United Kingdom hosting in 2035.
Of course, the question becomes this: Is it a lock? And it appears so.
According to ESPN, the USA was the only bidder for 2031 and the U.K. put forth what was considered the only "valid bid" of interest for the 2035 tournament. Worth noting: The U.K. has never hosted a Women's World Cup.
And it just might be that the USA will host the 2031 event in combination with several other CONCACAF nations, including Mexico. According to CBS Sports, U.S. Soccer had previously expressed interest in hosting the 2027 Women's World Cup but announced last year a shift to the 2031 tournament. The initial bid included Mexico and CBS Sports confirmed last month that the neighboring nation could still host games in 2031.
This will be the third time the USA will have hosted the Women’s World Cup; it also hosted the 1999 and 2003 tournaments. The United States Women's National Team (USWNT) has won the Women's World Cup four times, in 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019. Expect the pressure to be on for the home team to win on its own soil in 2031.
Of the course, the next step in the process is for destinations to get ready for the hosting spin cycle.
It is likely that the cities hosting the 2026 World Cup (the men’s event) will consider throwing their hats into the ring as well. These include the following:
Western Destinations
- Vancouver, British Columbia: BC Place
- Seattle, Washington: Lumen Field
- San Francisco, California: Levi's Stadium
- Los Angeles, California: SoFi Stadium
- Guadalajara, Mexico: Estadio Akron
Central and Midwest Destinations
- Kansas City, Missouri: Arrowhead Stadium
- Atlanta, Georgia: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Dallas, Texas: AT&T Stadium (Arlington)- Houston, Texas (NRG Stadium)
- Monterrey, Mexico: Estadio BBVA
- Mexico City, Mexico: Estadio Azteca
Eastern Destinations
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada: BMO Field
- Boston, Massachusetts: Gillette Stadium
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lincoln Financial Field;
- Miami, Florida: Hard Rock Stadium
- New York/New Jersey: MetLife Stadium
Of course, there were several high-profile candidates that were not named as host cities for 2026; snubs included Nashville, Baltimore/Washington, DC, Cincinnati, Denver, Orlando, Pasadena and Edmonton. These cities may elect to throw their hats into the ring again – or not, depending on their inclination to return to FIFA’s hosting process. At the same time, several other major stadiums have had (or are having) renovations and may decide to be part of the process.
The 2026 site selection process finally concluded,with announcements of host cities being made, in June of 2022; the process was delayed by the pandemic; the current timeline for naming host cities in the USA for the 2031 event, therefore, is not known. The 2026 World Cup will give FIFA officials plenty of opportunities to examine cities in play for that tournament.
There’s a lot on the line for host cities, since the event stirs travel, creates tourism, drives business and of course, generates economic impact. In 2024, when the Women’s World Cup was held in Australia, the economic impact was listed as $1.32 billion Australian dollars ($865.7 million in U.S. dollars), according to Just Women’s Sports. The post-tournament report also said that it decreased healthcare costs in the country by $212.5 million (USD) due to the increased physical activity it inspired.
Already, destinations have made headlines stating they are ready and willing to host. Two of these are Orlando, Florida and Kansas City, Missouri. Expect a lot more, including some of the possibilities mentioned in this article.
Also noteworthy: The tournament generated $570 million in revenue for FIFA, making it the first Women’s World Cup to break even. It’s also the second-highest generated income of any sport (behind the men’s World Cup), according to the article, which also stated the following:
“Nearly two million people attended the games in person, while 70 percent of the country’s population is said to have tuned in and watched the tournament. More than half of the fans that attended the games – 56 percent – were women.”
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