FIFA has cleared the joint bids for the Women’s World Cup in 2031 and 2035, after its evaluation reports found that both met the minimum hosting requirements. The two bids will now go to an Extraordinary FIFA Congress on November 23, where the member associations will vote on the hosts of the Women’s World Cup.
The 2031 bid is a joint submission from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, which proposed 20 stadiums in 20 host cities and received an overall score of 4.4 out of 5 for the Women’s World Cup. The 2035 bid comes from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with 19 stadiums in 15 host cities and a score of 4.3 out of 5. Both were the only bids for their editions.
What the Women’s World Cup bids propose
FIFA published the bid evaluation reports on Wednesday, November 11, after inspection visits to the bidding countries. The reports judged each bid against the minimum requirements for hosting the Women’s World Cup, including stadiums, training sites, transport and accommodation. The 2031 bid drew on the recent experience of the United States, which jointly hosted the men’s World Cup with Mexico and Canada and staged the Club World Cup in 2025.
The 2031 tournament will be the first Women’s World Cup with 48 teams, up from 32, and the four bidding nations will share the matches across 20 cities. The 2035 edition keeps the same four-nation model in Britain and Ireland, with the host nations choosing the theme “All Together” for their bid. The vote on November 23 will be held by videoconference.
How the Women’s World Cup vote will work
The Extraordinary FIFA Congress will convene by videoconference on November 23, 2026, and FIFA’s member associations will decide on the hosts of the two editions of the Women’s World Cup. FIFA said both bids met the minimum hosting requirements, which is the test a bid must pass before it can be put to the vote. No rival bid was submitted for either tournament.
The next edition of the tournament will be held in Brazil from June 24 to July 25 next year, with 32 teams. That event will be the last Women’s World Cup at the current size before the expansion in 2031. The vote in November will settle the hosts for the two editions after Brazil, and the winning nations will then have years to prepare stadiums, training bases and fan zones.
Why the 2031 bid scored higher
The 2031 bid scored 4.4 out of 5, slightly ahead of the 4.3 given to the 2035 bid. The report pointed to the strong foundation of the North American bid for the Women’s World Cup, built on stadiums and transport already tested at the men’s World Cup and the Club World Cup. The British and Irish bid also passed the test, with its 19 stadiums spread across 15 host cities.
The 2031 bid brings together four federations: the United States Soccer Federation, the Mexican Football Association, the Costa Rican Football Association and the Jamaica Football Federation. The 2035 bid brings together the Football Association, the Irish Football Association, the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales. Each group has already passed FIFA’s checks, so the vote is the last step before the work of hosting begins.
The reports also set out the stadiums each bid would use. The 2031 bid named 20 stadiums in 20 host cities, one in each city, while the 2035 bid named 19 stadiums across 15 host cities, so some cities would host matches at more than one ground. Both lists were checked during the inspection visits, and FIFA said the venues met the minimum requirements for the tournament. Each bid is the only bid for its edition, so the Congress vote will confirm the hosts rather than choose between rivals.
FIFA’s evaluation process included visits to the countries bidding, and the reports are published on FIFA’s website. The governing body said the reports followed a thorough assessment of each bid. The decision to put both bids to the vote at once is unusual, and the Congress will decide the hosts for 2031 and 2035 on the same day.