Home Nations to make joint bid to host 2035 Women’s World Cup

The 2035 Women’s World Cup will be hosted jointly by the Football Associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

The announcement comes in response to a recommendation from Fifa, the world’s governing body, that the competition be held in either Europe or Africa that year.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, bids for the 2031 and 2035 finals will be required.

After reversing their support for Brazil’s 2027 victory, the United States are the favorites to host the tournament in 2031.

In both of those years, Netflix has already obtained the US rights to broadcast live coverage.

One of the “crown jewel” sporting events in the UK must be offered to free-to-air broadcasters.

Spain’s victory over England in the final was broadcast on the BBC and ITV, with a peak audience of 12 million viewers.

Any bid will have the UK government’s “full support,” according to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Football is and will continue to be a significant component of our nation’s identity, he continued. When England hosted the Women’s Euro 2022, that pride was at its best. It not only helped to inspire a generation of girls into the game, but it also helped to boost the economy.

South Africa, who also withdrew from the race to host the 2027 event, may be in trouble if a UK bid is made in 2035.

The FAs of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland both expressed satisfaction with the joint bid on Wednesday in a statement.

According to FA CEO Mark Bullingham, “we firmly believe that we could organize a fantastic tournament, building on the success of the Women’s Euros in 2022 and the subsequent rapid growth of the women’s game in England.”

It would be “part of a 10-year journey to accelerate the women’s game at grassroots, domestic, and international levels,” according to Ian Maxwell, his Scottish FA counterpart.

A World Cup has proven to be difficult to come by for the UK, despite the country’s recent success hosting European football competitions.

England and Scotland hosted Euro 2020 games, with the final taking place at Wembley in July 2021 due to Covid-related delays, while the men’s version of Euro 2028 is being played across England, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland.

The Women’s Euro 2022, which was the last major tournament held in the UK, saw England defeat Germany in the Wembley final in front of 87,192 spectators, which raised the profile of the female game even further.

The UK has never hosted the women’s tournament, despite the fact that England won the men’s World Cup in 1966.

England’s previous two attempts to host the men’s World Cup failed.

While in the 2006 second round, England were eliminated with only two votes, the 2018 bid received only one other member besides its own Fifa executive committee member.