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Dale JohnsonMay 9, 2025, 11:45 AM ET
The FIFA Council connected Friday unanimously approved plans to grow the Women's World Cup to 48 teams.
The tourney volition beryllium expanded from 32 to 48 nations for the 2031 edition, which is expected to beryllium hosted by the United States.
It's the lone bid connected the table, and volition beryllium ratified by FIFA successful 2026.
It volition bring the women's contention successful enactment with the men's, which volition diagnostic 48 planetary teams arsenic of 2026 and is being hosted by the aforesaid 3 Concacaf countries.
The 48-team FIFA Women's World Cup volition follow a 12-group format, expanding the full fig of matches from 64 to 104 and extending the tourney by 1 week.
The hosting requirements for the 2031 and 2035 editions of the Women's World Cup person been adapted accordingly, FIFA said connected Friday.
The archetypal Women's World Cup was held successful 1991 and featured 12 countries, earlier expanding to 16 successful 1999, past 24 successful 2015 and 32 teams for the astir caller tourney successful 2023.
The 2027 event, being played successful Brazil, volition inactive person 32 competing nations.
"This is not conscionable astir having 16 much teams playing successful the FIFA Women's World Cup but taking the adjacent steps successful narration to the women's crippled successful wide by ensuring that much FIFA Member Associations person the accidental to payment from the tourney to make their women's shot structures from a holistic constituent of view," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said successful a quality release.
"The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, the archetypal successful which teams from each confederations won astatine slightest 1 crippled and teams from 5 confederations reached the knockout stage, among galore different records, acceptable a caller modular for planetary competitiveness. This determination ensures we are maintaining the momentum successful presumption of increasing women's shot globally."
U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said past month that the federation would powerfully enactment the latest expansion.
"Forty-eight teams is thing that we've been passionate supporters for," Batson said. "We deliberation it would beryllium unthinkable for increasing the women's game.
"One of the things we perceive from folks who pb federations astir the satellite is they presumption the Women's World Cup arsenic an accidental for them to, one, marque a World Cup and, two, truly spell vie successful a mode that conceivably they wouldn't beryllium capable to connected the men's side.
"So, what this would pb to successful presumption of spurring concern each astir the satellite successful women's and girls' soccer, we deliberation would beryllium incredible."
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman utilized the word "catalyst" successful describing the U.S.'s accidental to big the 2031 tournament.
"I deliberation to the grade radical spot the Men's World Cup arsenic a catalyst for the maturation of men's shot here, the Women's World Cup being present successful 2031 is straight a catalyst for growth," Berman told ESPN, referencing 1999 arsenic an inflection point.
"The thought that we really volition person a thriving league going into it and coming retired of it, nary uncertainty should make and unthinkable magnitude of excitement for the aboriginal of the NWSL and we perfectly volition capitalize connected it."
The UK submitted the lone "valid bid" to big the 2035 Women's World Cup, which volition besides present diagnostic 48 teams.
Information from ESPN's Jeff Kassouf was utilized successful this report.
