Washington soccer fans received a welcome update this week: Seattle looks likely to host more FIFA World Cup matches during the women's 2031 tournament.
On Nov. 11, FIFA released the bid evaluation reports for the Women's World Cup tournaments coming in 2031 and 2035. The United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica submitted a joint bid to host the 2031 competition last year, and the bid evaluation includes Seattle as one of twenty potential host cities (and Lumen Field as host venue from the group stage through the semifinals).
FIFA's report for the 2035 tournament also details the joint bid submitted by England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The FIFA Congress is set to officially appointment each tournament's host on Nov. 23.
Seattle
recently hostedsix matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including four group stage games and two knockout round matches. The tournament's final game in Seattle came on July 6, when Belgium defeated United States 4-1 in the Round of 16. Visit Seattle, the city's travel agency,reported that the tournament brought in $109 million in tax revenue and support around 20,000 jobs.
What does the FIFA report say about Seattle?
Seattle's Lumen Field (renamed "Seattle Stadium" during the 2026 FIFA World Cup) is being evaluated for the upcoming tournament as a host for games in the group stage through the semifinals. The stadium has a capacity or around 71,000 seats, the report notes, and hosted six matches at the 2026 tournament.
FIFA's report also notes the stadium's connection to public transport. Lumen Field "benefits from exception multimodal connectivity," according to the report, citing the venue's proximity to the light rail, bus services, ferries and Sea-Tac Airport.
The stadium's synthetic turf surface would again require a change to natural grass, the report notes, after Lumen Field installed a grass surface for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Each stadium was given a "technical evaluation score" that looked at a combination of factors like stadium infrastructure, accommodations and fan and broadcast center capabilities. Lumen Field scored a 4.1 out of 5. Six other stadiums (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, NRG Stadium in Houston, SoFi Stadium in Log Angeles, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Estadio Akron in Guadalajara and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey) scored higher.
Seattle scored a 5.0 on FIFA's accommodation ratings (looking at hotel availability) and a 4.5 on FIFA Fan Festival Sites.
What are the proposed host cities for the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup?
Twenty cities are part of the joint bid to host the 2031 Women's World Cup across four countries.
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Dallas, Texas
- Denver, Colorado
- Houston, Texas
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Los Angeles, California
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New York/New Jersey
- Orlando, Florida
- San Diego, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- Guadalajara, Mexico
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Monterrey, Mexico
- Torreón, Mexico
- San José, Costa Rica
- Kingston, Jamaica
Zachary Fletcher is a trending news reporter with USA TODAY Network's Washington state team. Keep up with him on X (@zdfletch), BlueSky (@zfletcher.bsky.social) or reach him at zfletcher@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: World Cup soccer could return to Seattle in 2031, according to new FIFA report
