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Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Orlando eyes bid for 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup host city status
Editor's note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. Orlando wants to be a host city for the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup. FIFA announced at the 2025 UEFA Congress the United States and its partners in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football were the sole bid for the 2031 tournament after a deadline passed for bids. Advertisement FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the tournament could include a mix of cities in the U.S. and others in Concacaf, such as Mexico. Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal's website. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Dubai Eye
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Dubai Eye
Women's World Cup heading to US in 2031, UK in 2035
The United States is on track to host the 2031 Women's World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced on Thursday. He also confirmed that the 2035 global football competition is expected to take place in the United Kingdom. The US submitted the only bid for 2031, while the joint bid from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was the only valid bid for 2035, Infantino told the UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Serbia. "The path is there for the Women's World Cup to be taking place in '31 and '35 in some great countries and some great nations to boost even more the women's football movement," Infantino said. Technically, the bids must be formally approved in a vote at next year's FIFA Congress, but that appears to be a foregone conclusion with no other viable bidders ahead of Saturday's deadline. Infantino said the US bid could potentially include other Concacaf members. The US previously hosted the Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003. "We are excited about the opportunity to co-host the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup and, in collaboration with our Concacaf partners, are committed to delivering a tournament that leaves a lasting legacy -- one that elevates women's soccer across the world and inspires future generations of players and fans," US Soccer said in a statement. "As FIFA finalizes the number of participating teams in the tournament, we will solidify our partnership structure with fellow Concacaf nations. We look forward to sharing more details and unveiling our full vision for the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup in the near future." The UK will be hosting for the first time. "We are honoured to be the sole bidder for the Women's World Cup 2035. Hosting the first FIFA World Cup since 1966 with our home nations partners will be very special. The hard work starts now, to put together the best possible bid by the end of the year," England FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement. The 2027 Women's World Cup will take place in Brazil with 32 teams and 64 matches from June 24 to July 25. Spain is the defending champion after breaking through for its first Women's World Cup title in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. The 2031 Women's World Cup will expand to 48 teams. Meanwhile, the 2026 men's FIFA World Cup will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
Express Tribune
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
UK set to host 2035 Women's Soccer World Cup
The United Kingdom appears set to host the 2035 Women's World Cup after FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday described its interest as the "one valid bid" for the tournament. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales announced last month that they would submit a joint bid to host the finals. England's men won the World Cup for the first and so far only time when the country hosted the finals in 1966. It has never staged the women's tournament. "We are honoured to be the sole bidder for the FIFA women's World Cup 2035," FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement. "Hosting the first FIFA World Cup since 1966 with our home nations partners will be very special. The hard work starts now, to put together the best possible bid by the end of the year." The United States, with the possibility of other countries in the CONCACAF region joining the U.S., is also poised to be named host of the 2031 Women's World Cup as the only bid. Infantino said the tournament will increase from 32 teams to 48 in time for the 2031 World Cup to match the men's event. "We received one bid for 2031 and one bid -- one valid bid I should add -- for 2035," he added at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade. "The 2035 bid is from Europe, from the home nations." The U.S. hosted the 1999 and 2003 Women's World Cup. Brazil will host the 2027 event featuring 32 teams. FORMAL BIDS Member associations must formally submit bids to FIFA in the final quarter of this year. The world governing body currently plans to confirm the Women's World Cup hosts for 2031 and 2035 at the 76th FIFA Congress in the second quarter of next year. "So, the path is there for the Women's World Cup to be taking place in '31 and '35 in some great countries, in some great nations, to boost even more the women's football movement," Infantino said. FIFA said last month that members associated with the Confederation of African Football and CONCACAF were eligible to bid for the 2031 World Cup, while CAF and UEFA member associations could bid for the 2035 tournament. Reports had suggested Spain, Portugal and Morocco, who are jointly hosting the 2030 men's World Cup, planned to launch a rival bid for 2035 before Infantino's comment on Thursday that the UK had the only valid bid. England's women's manager Sarina Wiegman said hosting the tournament will be a big boost to the women's game. "It's the biggest female event we have in the world, that's so exciting," she told a press conference on Thursday. "We know with the experience of the Euros (the women's European Championships in 2022, which England won) how big the game is already here, and what that momentum did here in the country, but also worldwide. "So another tournament, even on an even bigger stage, would be incredible."
New York Times
03-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
World Cup expansion proposal to 64 teams a ‘bad idea' – UEFA's Aleksander Ceferin
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has dismissed a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams as a 'bad idea', saying it would damage both the tournament itself and Europe's qualifying competition. The topic of World Cup expansion has been back on the agenda ever since Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso surprisingly proposed it at a FIFA Council meeting last month. Advertisement Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are currently scheduled to host one match each at the start of the 2030 tournament, with the remaining 101 games in the 48-team tournament split between Morocco, Portugal and Spain. The three games in South America are intended to mark the centenary of the first World Cup, which was co-hosted by Argentina and Uruguay in 1930, with Paraguay also getting a match as it is the home of the South American confederation Conmebol. Alonso, however, was speaking for many in South America who believe the continent should be getting at least as many matches as the other 2030 hosts, which he thinks is best done by increasing the number of teams for one tournament only. In a statement released after his suggestion was first reported by The New York Times, world football's governing body FIFA said Alonso's proposal was 'spontaneously raised' during the 'miscellaneous' section of the meeting. It added that the idea 'was acknowledged as FIFA has a duty to analyze any proposal from one of its council members'. When asked for his opinion during a media conference at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade on Thursday, Ceferin made it clear he does not believe this analysis should take very long. 'This proposal that was made was even more surprising for me than for you,' he said. 'I think it's a bad idea – it's not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it's not a good idea for our qualifiers as well. 'So, I am not supporting that idea. I don't know where it came from but it's strange that we didn't know anything before this proposal at the FIFA Council.' This is not the first time that Ceferin and UEFA have found themselves in opposition to suggestions for the World Cup from other parts of the planet, ideas that FIFA itself would appear to endorse. An earlier spontaneous suggestion from the Saudi Arabian federation to hold World Cups every two years, instead of four, was defeated by UEFA-led opposition but FIFA president Gianni Infantino was able to force through his idea to expand the tournament from 32 teams to 48. That expansion means seven of Conmebol's 10 members can now qualify for the tournament, removing nearly all of the jeopardy from its qualifying tournament, and Ceferin is worried that any further increase in the World Cup's size would do the same to Europe. Some would argue it has already happened, with 16 slots available at a 48-team World Cup for UEFA's 55 members, but if Europe's allocation was to rise to 20 teams, or perhaps more, qualification would become a formality for the larger nations, greatly reducing the value of qualifiers to broadcasters, sponsors and fans. Advertisement FIFA's desire to host bigger events, with more teams and matches, is not limited to international football, as this summer will see the first edition of the revamped Club World Cup, a 32-team competition that is being hosted by the U.S.. Ceferin did not like that idea, either, but told reporters in the Serbian capital there is nothing he can do about it now and he does not think it is a threat to UEFA's hugely successful Champions League. 'The Club World Cup is happening and that's it,' he said. 'The clubs from Europe wanted it and I don't see this as competition to our competition. It will be more matches for some of the players, but maybe that's more of a question for my dear colleague Gianni Infantino.' (Top image of Aleksander Ceferin: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
The Independent
03-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New Manchester United stadium could stage games at 2035 Women's World Cup
Manchester United's proposed new 100,000-capacity stadium could stage matches at the 2035 Women's World Cup, Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham has said. The United Kingdom is all but certain to host a first football World Cup since 1966 after the four-nation plan to stage the women's finals in 10 years' time was confirmed as the sole bid by FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday. Bullingham said the four associations would be 'really comfortable' if the finals were expanded to 48 teams, which is possible under the bidding regulations published by FIFA. That would likely require 16 venues, which Bullingham believes would allow the tournament to create more impact across the four nations. He said it was the 'assumption' Wembley would host the final but admitted the 10-year lead-in meant a number of new stadia, including United's new ground, could feature. 'We're going to have conversations with (United) and work out if they can be part of it or not,' he said at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade on Thursday. 'We've got a number of different stadia being built in the country, potentially Man United, potentially Birmingham, and with a 10-year horizon you've got to work out exactly where you'll be then. 'There will be lots of conversations to be had, understanding timescales for stadium builds, understanding what people want and knitting that together.' United hope to be in their new £2billion stadium in time for the 2030-31 season. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already said the bid has British Government support and Bullingham said Government guarantees around tax issues and security funding would need to be provided to FIFA by the end of this month, ahead of the formal bid submission in November. A rival bid set to feature Spain, Portugal and Morocco, touted by Spanish federation president Rafael Louzan last week, did not ultimately fully materialise, with Infantino saying the UK's plan was the only 'valid bid'. Wales and Scotland would likely provide two venues each, with sources close to the bid indicating Wrexham's redeveloped SToK Racecourse ground was a candidate alongside Cardiff's Principality Stadium. The League One club's Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are seeking to expand the Dragons' stadium as the club continue their rise up the football pyramid. Bid leaders speaking to the PA news agency on condition of anonymity said they felt the Government would look favourably on including a venue in north Wales in the bid as well as Cardiff in the south, while Wrexham's Hollywood connection would give the tournament obvious crossover appeal. Northern Ireland's Windsor Park is likely to be submitted as a host venue in 2035 too. The Belfast stadium's capacity was too low for consideration to host matches at the men's Euros in 2028 and, when plans to redevelop Casement Park in time for the finals were shelved last September, the country's hopes of co-hosting that tournament collapsed. However, Bullingham said he was confident its capacity could easily be brought up to the 20,000 minimum for the 2035 finals. England successfully staged the 2022 Women's Euros and hosting in 2035 will further strengthen relations with FIFA after bids to host the 2006 and 2018 men's World Cups ended in failure. The UK bid is poised to go forward unopposed to FIFA Congress in the second quarter of next year, where there would most likely be a vote by acclamation, as was the case when the Saudi Arabian bid for the 2034 men's World Cup was unchallenged last December. The UK bid will still be subject to the usual FIFA checks, such as an evaluation report. Infantino confirmed the United States were the sole bidders for 2031, potentially alongside other nations from the CONCACAF confederation which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.
