Women's football continues to grow around the world as many countries are looking to invest in the future of the sport.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was a huge success in driving popularity of the game in Australia and New Zealand, and a few nations are working behind the scenes to try and host the 2027 edition of the tournament.
The deadline to make a bid to FIFA passed on April 24, 2023. Each group will have a year to prepare before finding out who will host the competition.
The Sporting News looks at where the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup could be hosted.
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Where is the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup?
Four separate parties have made bids to express their interest in hosting the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands have made a combined bid to host the tournament in 2027. It would be a similar scenario to the 2023 edition and how Australia and New Zealand are both hosting.
South Africa and Brazil have put in independent bids of their own for the competition while the Unites States and Mexico, two of the three countries hosting the 2026 Men's World Cup, have also shown their interest for the Women's event.
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When will FIFA decide a host for the 2027 Women's World Cup?
Each of the four bid makers will have until December 8, 2023 to submit their final bids to FIFA. After that is done, FIFA will conduct research of their own to find a suitable host.
In February 2024, FIFA will organise on-site inspections to each country before publishing a report of their findings in May 2024. On May 17, 2024, the FIFA Congress will announce the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup.
From there the host country/countries will begin preparing the logistics for the tournament to ensure a smooth competition in 2027.
Who will play at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup?
Like the 2023 edition, 32 different countries will take part at the 2027 Women's World Cup. There will be eight groups of four teams and a total of 64 matches throughout the tournament.
Europe will be the most-represented continent at the World Cup, with at least 11 teams participating at the competition. Three teams will be decided through a 10-team playoff tournament.
Here are the allocation of places given to each confederation. Russia is banned from the qualifying stage due to their invasion of Ukraine.
| Confederation | Continent | Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | Asia | 6 teams |
| CAF | Africa | 4 teams |
| CONCACAF | North America, Central America, Caribbean | 4 teams |
| CONMEBOL | South America | 3 teams |
| OFC | Oceania | 1 team |
| UEFA | Europe | 11 team |
| Playoffs | Inter-continental | 3 teams |