As expected, the German Football Association (DFB) has to assert itself against three competitors in its joint bid with Belgium and the Netherlands to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
World governing body FIFA confirmed on Monday (April 24, 2023) that, in addition to the European trio, Brazil, South Africa and the US federation have expressed their interest in the tournament in a joint bid with Mexico.
“We are delighted with the declarations of interest received as they come from associations with strong footballing traditions across four confederations, underscoring the enduring popularity of women’s football around the world“, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura is quoted as saying in the world association’s press release.
“Tougher and more comprehensive application process”
The World Cup host is to be appointed by the FIFA Congress on May 17, 2024. Germany already hosted the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Next year, the DFB will host the men’s European Championship. The next men’s World Cup will take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026. A women’s tournament that could take place in partially the same stadiums just a year after the men’s World Cup would be a first in FIFA history. And kinda hard to imagine.
UEFA avoids the same country getting a chance in quick succession. Most recently, France had tried to host the EM 2025. But because both the 2019 Women’s World Cup and the 2016 Men’s European Championship took place here, the application had no chance. Switzerland was recently awarded the contract.
The date of the 2023 World Cup is disputed
FIFA writes from “hardest and most comprehensive application process” at women’s world championships in the history of the world association. This year’s World Cup tournament will take place from July 20th to August 20th in Australia and New Zealand – the late termination more than seven weeks after the Champions League final in Eindhoven (June 3rd, 2023) was massively criticized by Ralf Kellermann from VfL Wolfsburg .
According to President Gianni Infantino, FIFA wants to use the 2027 requirement to enforce the same payment as in men’s finals. “We are confident that we can achieve this”, Infantino said at the FIFA Congress in Kigali. At the same time, he promised to pay out around 150 million euros in bonuses at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. For comparison: For the men’s World Cup in Qatar it was 440 million euros.
FIFA suspects business with the Women’s World Cup
The clever string puller from Switzerland has named the promotion of women’s football as one of the most important projects, and FIFA also sees great economic growth in the segment. Therefore, the award for 2027 needs to be carefully considered. South Africa and Brazil as hosts would have a certain charm because neither Africa nor South America has ever hosted a women’s World Cup – both countries could also fall back on the stadium infrastructure of a men’s World Cup from 2010 and 2014 respectively. The disadvantage would be that women’s football is not yet widely accepted in both countries – unsure whether the stadiums can really be filled.
That would certainly be different in Europe, as the EM in England showed. The DFB, together with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA), was the first to submit its candidacy for the 2027 World Cup – and was often surprised that the application process had been repeatedly delayed.
The four German venues have already been determined
The joint application has been in preparation since 2020, the slogan should be “BNG” for “Breaking new ground” (breaking new ground). The three letters also stand for the English names of the nations “Belgium”, “Netherlands” and “Germany”.
The DFB has already decided on the possible match cities of Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne. “We will promote it, also outside of Europe. We are very committed to tackling the issue well – internationally and globally.”, Association President Bernd Neuendorf announced. It remains to be seen what effect the strained relationship between the DFB and FIFA will have. Insiders think it is conceivable that Infantino would prefer an award outside of Europe.