The joint bids for both the 2031 and the 2035 Women's World Cup tournaments have met the hosting requirements and will be put up for a vote by FIFA's members later this month.
The United States, Mexico,
Costa Rica and Jamaica made the lone bid for the 2031 tournament, when the field will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams. The joint bid for the 2035 edition includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
FIFA's evaluation reports released Wednesday determined both bids met minimum requirements ahead of the voted on during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress on Nov. 23.
The report acknowledged that the 2031 bid has a strong foundation after the United States jointly hosted the men's World Cup with Mexico and Canada, as well as the Club World Cup in 2025. The women's tournament in 2031 is expected to draw 4.5 million fans.
The 2031 bid included 20 proposed host stadiums across the four countries, with 14 in the United States, four in Mexico and one each in Jamaica and Costa Rica. One stadium included in the proposal, the new RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., has yet to be built, but otherwise the bid included existing venues.
The four stadiums considered for the final match were Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, AT&T Stadium outside of Dallas, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Seven of the proposed stadiums in the United State have artificial surfaces, along with one in Mexico, which would need to be outfitted with natural grass for the matches. At the men's World Cup this past summer, several stadiums, including Lumen Field in Seattle, installed temporary grass fields.
FIFA noted that U.S. government agencies sent supporting letters committing to requirements for requirements like immigration, visas, work permits and security.
“Accordingly, while certain commitments require further engagement, there is a sound basis for confidence that continued dialogue and collaboration with the relevant government agencies should support the successful organization and delivery of the tournament, should the bid be successful,” FIFA said.
For the 2035 bid, the host nations chose the theme “All Together.”
“The bid draws on the shared commitment of the four member associations and their experience (both current and upcoming) in hosting major international sporting events, including the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 and the UEFA Euro 2028."
There were 15 host cities and 19 stadiums proposed for the tournament across the four nations, including 14 in England, two in Ireland, one in Scotland and two in Wales. The final would go to Wembley Stadium in London.
FIFA also announced on Wednesday the draw process for next year's Women's World Cup in Brazil, which will be held on Dec. 11 in Rio de Janeiro.
There will be four pots of eight teams, with the top four teams in the rankings separated until the late stages if they finish atop their groups. The top four will be based off the rankings released on Dec. 7, but currently defending champion Spain is ranked No. 1, followed by the United States, Germany and England.
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