The FIFA Congress will choose from a winnowed field two candidates to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup at its meeting in Bangkok this week.
A joint bid from the United States and Mexico was withdrawn at the end of last month and South Africa withdrew its bid in November. That left just two proposals for a vote on Friday: a joint proposal from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and another from Brazil.
It is the first time that all 211 FIFA member associations will have the opportunity to have their say on the hosting of the women’s tournament. Previously, it was decided by the FIFA Council, the governing body’s decision-making committee.
Brazil are the favorites to win the contest, especially after being ranked higher in a FIFA evaluation report last week.
“The document shows that Brazil complied with excellence with all the strict requirements of the bidding process,” said the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ednaldo Rodrigues.
Brazil’s bid, titled “As Natural as Football,” emphasizes an event that will inspire women and girls, as well as raise awareness about issues such as sustainability, social responsibility and inclusion.
Brazil was also in contention for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but withdrew citing the persistent difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan also withdrew late in this process. When the proposals were finally considered, there were only two, Colombia and the joint submission from Australia and New Zealand, which won with 63% of the council’s votes.
Brazil has hosted two men’s World Cups, in 1950 and 2014, and the 2016 Olympics. A South American country has never hosted a Women’s World Cup and other CONMEBOL countries are likely to support the effort.
“The results released by FIFA strengthen us so that we can work harder in this final sprint,” said Rodrigues. “We will work harder to get as many votes as possible. We want everyone’s support.”
Germany hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2011 and the Netherlands hosted the 2017 Women’s European Championship. Among the advantages of the “BNG” proposal: There are 13 potential host cities accessible by train.
Their bid – titled “Breaking New Ground”, using the countries’ initials – marks the first time the three traditional rivals have collaborated as potential hosts. Belgium and the Netherlands co-hosted the men’s European Championship in 2000.
“There is a fantastic combination of knowledge in organizing these big tournaments together, with some new ideas,” said German federation general secretary Heike Ullrich. The Associated Press. “One very important thing for us when it comes to organizing a tournament is that it is compact… so ‘local but global’ is a slogan. The longest distance between two locations is 300 kilometers (185 miles), meaning for teams and fans they can simply find their base camp and get from A to B from there.”
The evaluation report highlighted risks within the legal “contractual structure” that FIFA requires to host the event in BNG’s proposal. Ullrich responded that any complications arising from working with three different governments would be resolved and that something like transportation, for example, is only arranged after a successful application. Germany will host the men’s European Championships this year, when ticket holders will enjoy free local transport to games and discounts on long-distance services.
“It’s just a matter of time and when we take these steps,” Ullrich said. “Of course we will match everything FIFA needs to have a FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
Hosting the event also brings a growing economic benefit. The Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015 attracted 1.35 million viewers. There was US$493.6 million in economic activity generated by the tournament and the previous year’s U20 Women’s World Cup.
At last year’s World Cup, that figure almost doubled, generating $865.7 million for Australia and $67.87 million for co-hosts New Zealand.
The United States and Mexico withdrew at the end of April, after announcing an economic impact of 3 billion dollars. But the sporting calendar was already packed, with the United States, Mexico and Canada hosting the men’s World Cup in 2026, and Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics.
