The U.S. Soccer Federation and the Mexican Football Federation will bid to co-host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The federations have until May 19 to submit an initial bidding agreement, but the federations have announced what would be a historic co-hosting and a potential return of the event to North America for the first time since 2003.
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be the second tournament with 32 nations in play. The 2023 tournament, which will be held this summer in Australia and New Zealand, will mark the first time the expanded field will be in action. The 2023 event is also the first time the Women’s World Cup will be staged with multiple hosts, opening the door to the 2027 joint bid from the United States and Mexico.
Other regions that have announced or the intention to bid for 2027 include South Africa; a joint proposal from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands; and Brazil.
The United States hosted the tournament in 1999, when the host team won a historic tournament that broke attendance and viewing records, and again in 2003, when U.S. Soccer had 12 weeks to organize the event after it was moved from China. Mexico has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, but has seen steady growth in its Liga MX Femenil women’s league.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada will be co-hosting the 2026 Men’s World Cup across each country, with the majority of games scheduled for the United States.
“The United States has always been a global leader for the women’s game, and we would be honored to co-host the world’s premier event for women’s soccer along with Mexico,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone, who played in two Women’s World Cups and was a key part of the USA’s 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship. “Hosting the 2027 Women’s World Cup provides us an incredible opportunity to cap off two historic years of World Cup soccer in the Concacaf region, helping us continue to grow the game among our confederation associations. A record six teams from Concacaf will play in the Women’s World Cup this summer, and the United States and Mexico want to continue to push the envelope for the development of women’s soccer across the entire region.”
“Women’s football in Mexico has experienced sustained growth over the last five years and its development, both on and off the field, coupled with the female empowerment it has achieved and will continue to achieve, is one of the strategic priorities of the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol,” said Yon de Luisa, president of the FMF. “It is with pleasure that we are teaming up again with the U.S. Soccer Federation in the pursuit of this World Cup for our region, which will undoubtedly be historic.”
The 2027 host is expected to be named by the FIFA Congress on May 17, 2024, after what FIFA is calling “the most robust and comprehensive bidding process in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.” A bid workshop and observer program will take place at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and countries will be required to submit their official bids to FIFA on December 8, 2023.