The Women’s World Cup will be held in South America for the first time after Brazil secured the right to host the 2027 tournament, FIFA announced on Thursday (17).
The announcement was made at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, with the selection process decided for the first time by open voting.
Brazil’s bid received 119 votes, FIFA said, while a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany (‘BNG’) received 78.
The United States and Mexico, which along with Canada will host the men’s World Cup in 2026, initially submitted a joint bid but withdrew it in April, stating that they would instead focus on hosting the tournament in 2031.
“Congratulations to Brazil,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “We will have the best World Cup in Brazil.”
Brazil hosted the men’s World Cup in 1950 and 2014.
“We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women’s football and women’s football worldwide,” said Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, according to FIFA. “Rest assured, without vanity, we will hold the best Women’s World Cup.”
The 2027 World Cup will be the 10th edition of the tournament. Spain won the competition in 2023 – which saw the tournament expand from 24 to 32 teams – defeating England 1-0 in the final.
The United States is the only country to have hosted the tournament more than once and has also won the competition four times, a record.
FIFA described the host selection process as the “most comprehensive ever.” The governing body said it established a Proposal Evaluation Task Force that followed the scoring system model used to select the host for the 2023 World Cup, which was ultimately awarded to Australia and New Zealand.
There will be no shortage of talent on the field in 2027, although Brazil will be without one of its greatest players. Marta, who has played in six World Cups, announced in April that she would retire from the sport this year. The 38-year-old is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, including both men’s and women’s teams, with 115 goals.
Source: CNN