2031 FIFA Women's World Cup

2031 FIFA Women's World Cup
Copa Mundial Femenina de la FIFA 2031
Tournament details
Host countriesCosta Rica
Jamaica
Mexico
United States
Dates2031
Teams48 (from 6[a] confederations)
← 2027
2035 →

The 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the 11th edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's soccer championship contested by the national teams that represent the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be the first to involve 48 national teams.

The tournament hosts will be Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.

Host selection

The host nation(s) for the 2031 Women's World Cup will be formally decided by the tenth extraordinary FIFA Congress on November 23, 2026, in Zürich, two years after the host selection for the 2027 edition.[2][3] On March 5, 2025, the FIFA Council approved the bid regulations, which restricted bids to CONCACAF and CAF members.[4] The key dates include:[5]

  • March 31, 2025: Member associations to submit their expressions of interest to host the 2031 and 2035 Women's World Cup
  • April 30, 2025: Member associations to confirm their interest in bidding to host the Women's World Cup by submitting the bidding agreement
  • Q2 2025: Bid workshop and observer program to take place
  • November 28, 2025: Member associations to submit their bids to FIFA
  • February 2026: FIFA to organize on-site inspection visits to bidding countries
  • March 2026: Publication of FIFA's bid evaluation report
  • 2nd quarter: Designation of bids by the FIFA Council
  • November 23, 2026: Appointment of the 2031 and 2035 Women's World Cup hosts at the tenth extraordinary FIFA Congress in Zürich, Switzerland[6]

On April 3, 2025, FIFA announced that the United States bid was the only valid bid, with other CONCACAF nations eligible to host games.[7] The United States bid had been announced alongside Mexico and had explored a limited number of games in Costa Rica and Jamaica. Mexico later joined the United States as hosts on May 27, 2025.[8] Costa Rica and Jamaica also joined as hosts on October 20, 2025.[9]

It will be the third Women's World Cup hosted by the United States, after 1999 and 2003. This will be the first time Mexico will host the FIFA Women's World Cup, which will make it the seventh country—after Sweden, the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and Brazil—to host both the men's and women's World Cups, having hosted the former in 1970, 1986, and 2026. This will be the first senior FIFA World Cup to take place in Costa Rica and Jamaica, and the first in Central America and the Caribbean. Costa Rica will become the first country to host all three FIFA Women's World Cups, having hosted the U-17 World Cup in 2014 and the U-20 World Cup in 2022. It will mark the first time Jamaica has hosted a FIFA tournament. This will also be the first Women's World Cup to be hosted in more than two countries.

Format

The expansion of the Women's World Cup from 32 to 48 teams comes with the success of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the number of participants was increased from 24 to 32 teams.[10][11] The rapid growth of women's soccer in the 2020s led to the potential expansion following suit with the men's World Cup.[12] During the March 5, 2025, FIFA Council meeting, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated that the tournament would possibly be expanded to 48 teams depending on decisions made in the lead-up to the host selection. On April 3, 2025, the tournament was expanded to 48 teams starting from the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup, a decision confirmed one month later on May 9, 2025.[10][11][13]

The teams will be split into 12 groups of 4 teams, with the top two of each group and the eight best third-placed teams progressing to a new round of 32. The total number of games played will increase from 64 to 104, and the maximum number of games played by teams reaching the final will increase from seven to eight.

Venues

In its hosting requirements document, FIFA stipulated that the 32-team competition will have a minimum of eight stadiums, of which at least five were to be existing venues. The stadiums would have minimum seating capacities of 20,000 for most matches, 40,000 for the semifinals, and 65,000 for the opener and final.[14] However, additional changes will be made to accommodate the expansion to 48.

In Costa Rica, the only city interested is San José.[15]

In Jamaica, the only city interested is Kingston.[16]

In Mexico, several cities are interested: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Pachuca, Querétaro, and Torreón.[17]

In the United States, more than 30 regions featuring existing stadiums have shown interest, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, the Tampa Bay Area, and Washington, D.C., with bidding set to begin in fall 2025.[18] Additionally, the New Stadium at RFK Campus in Washington, D.C., is planned to be completed in 2030 as to be eligible as a host venue.[19][20]

On November 28, 2025, the bid book listed 20 possible stadiums the bidding committee had in mind with additional stadiums mentioned as well. No official statement has been made yet on when the host city selection process will begin.

A † denotes a stadium used for previous Women's World Cup tournaments.
A ‡ denotes an indoor stadium with a fixed or retractable roof with interior climate control.

List of proposed host cities and sample stadiums
Country City Stadium Capacity Image
United States New York/New Jersey
(East Rutherford, New Jersey)		 MetLife Stadium 82,500
(bid book: 87,157)
Dallas
(Arlington, Texas)		 AT&T Stadium‡ 80,000
(bid book: 92,967)
(expandable to 105,000)
Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium 76,416
(bid book: 76,640)
Denver Empower Field at Mile High 76,125
Charlotte Bank of America Stadium 75,037
Houston Reliant Stadium‡ 72,220
(expandable to 80,000)
Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium‡ 71,000
(bid book: 75,000)
(expandable to 83,000)
Los Angeles
(Inglewood, California)		 SoFi Stadium 70,240
(expandable to 100,240)
Seattle Lumen Field 68,740
(expandable to 72,000)
Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium‡ 66,202
(expandable to 73,000)
Washington, D.C. New Stadium at RFK Campus‡ 65,000
Orlando Camping World Stadium 60,219
(expandable to 65,194)
San Diego Snapdragon Stadium 35,000
(expandable to 55,000)
Nashville Geodis Park 30,109
Mexico Mexico City Estadio Banorte 87,523
Monterrey
(Guadalupe)		 Estadio BBVA 53,500
(bid book: 53,460)
Guadalajara
(Zapopan)		 Estadio Akron 49,813
(bid book: 48,071)
Torreón Estadio Corona 29,101
Costa Rica San José Costa Rica National Stadium 35,000
Jamaica Kingston Independence Park 37,500
(after renovation)[21]

List of backup host cities and sample stadiums
Country City Stadium Capacity Image
United States Los Angeles Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 77,500
Los Angeles
(Pasadena, California)		 Rose Bowl† 72,000
(after renovation)
Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium 70,745
Tampa Bay
(Tampa, Florida)		 Raymond James Stadium 69,218
(expandable to 75,000)
San Francisco Bay Area
(Santa Clara, California)		 Levi's Stadium 68,500
(bid book: 70,909)
(expandable to 75,000)
Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field† 67,594
(bid book: 69,328)
Cleveland
(Brook Park, Ohio)		 New Huntington Bank Field‡ 67,000
Boston
(Foxborough, Massachusetts)		 Gillette Stadium† 64,628
(bid book: 70,000)		 Gillette Stadium
Phoenix
(Glendale, Arizona)		 State Farm Stadium 63,400
(expandable to 72,200)
Nashville Nissan Stadium‡ 60,000
Birmingham Protective Stadium 47,100
San Francisco Bay Area
(San Francisco)		 Oracle Park 42,000
Los Angeles
(Carson, California)		 Dignity Health Sports Park† 27,000
Cincinnati TQL Stadium 26,000
Orlando Inter.co Stadium 25,500
New York/New Jersey
(New York City)		 Etihad Park 25,000
New York/New Jersey
(Harrison, New Jersey)		 Sports Illustrated Stadium 25,000
Dallas
(Frisco, Texas)		 Toyota Stadium 22,500
(after renovation)
St. Louis Energizer Park 22,423
Miami
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida)		 Inter Miami CF Stadium 21,550
Houston Shell Energy Stadium 20,656
Salt Lake City
(Sandy, Utah)		 America First Field 20,213
Columbus ScottsMiracle-Gro Field 20,371
Indianapolis Eleven Park 20,000
Washington, D.C. Audi Field 20,000
Kansas City CPKC Stadium 11,500
(expandable to 20,000)
Mexico Monterrey
(San Nicolás de los Garza)		 Estadio Universitario 41,886
Querétaro Estadio Corregidora 34,130
Pachuca Estadio Hidalgo 25,922
Costa Rica San José Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá 23,112

Teams

Qualification

FIFA's confederations organize their own qualifying competitions, with the exception of CAF and CONCACAF, which qualify teams through continental championships. The hosts Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, and the United States qualified automatically for the tournament, leaving most of the remaining FIFA member associations eligible to enter qualification if they chose to do so.

Qualified teams

Team Qualified as Qualification date Appearance
in finals		 Last
appearance		 Consecutive
streak		 Previous best performance
 United StatesCo-hostsApril 3, 2025[c]10th/11th2023/20271/11Champions (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019)
 MexicoMay 27, 2025[d]4th/5th2015/20271/2Group stage (1999, 2011, 2015)
 Costa RicaOctober 20, 2025[e]3rd/4th2023/20271/3Group stage (2015, 2023)
 JamaicaOctober 20, 2025[e]3rd/4th2023/20271/4Round of 16 (2023)

Marketing

Broadcasting

UEFA boycott

On July 30, 2026, following FIFA's announcement of FIFA Forward Enterprise (a proposal to sell stakes in FIFA's tournament operations, including for the FIFA Women's World Cup, to private investors), all 55 UEFA member associations agreed to an indefinite boycott of FIFA competitions until the proposal was shelved and assurances were made that such a proposal would not be re-introduced.[1][26] A day later, the proposal was scrapped,[27] although UEFA stated that, regardless, it no longer trusts FIFA's governance.[28] As of August 6, 2026, since FIFA has not ensured that a proposal like FIFA Forward Enterprise would not happen again, the boycott is ongoing.

Notes

  1. ↑ European teams may not participate if UEFA's boycott of FIFA competitions over the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal continues.[1]
  2. ↑ As of July 2026, UEFA is indefinitely boycotting all FIFA competitions in response to the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.[1] It is unknown what will happen to UEFA's slots should this boycott continue.
  3. ↑ On April 3, 2025, FIFA announced that the United States bid was the only valid bid. However, the formal announcement of the host(s) will be made on November 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ It was revealed that Mexico joined the United States as co-hosts on May 27, 2025. However, the formal announcement of the host(s) will be made on November 23, 2026.
  5. 1 2 It was revealed that Costa Rica and Jamaica joined the United States and Mexico as co-hosts on October 20, 2025. However, the formal announcement of the host(s) will be made on November 23, 2026.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stone, Simon (July 30, 2026). "Uefa to boycott World Cups if Fifa plans approved". BBC News. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  2. ↑ "FIFA Council endorsed international match calendar principles and competitions". FIFA+. FIFA. December 16, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ "FIFA Council highlights record breaking revenue in football". FIFA. February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  4. ↑ "FIFA Council approves unprecedented prize money pot for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and takes key decisions on women's competitions". Inside FIFA.
  5. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup 2031 and FIFA Women's World Cup 2035 Overview of the Bidding Processes" (PDF). FIFA. March 5, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ Davidson, Neil (May 15, 2025). "Vancouver selected to host FIFA Congress ahead of 2026 Men's World Cup". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  7. ↑ Kearns, Sean (April 3, 2025). "UK set to host 2035 Women's World Cup as only 'valid' bid". BBC Sport. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  8. ↑ Slater, Matt; Rampling, Ali (April 3, 2025). "FIFA confirms U.S.-Mexico, UK as sole bidders for 2031, 2035 Women's World Cups". The Athletic. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  9. ↑ "U.S. Soccer Federation, Mexican Football Federation, Costa Rican Football Federation, and Jamaica Football Federation Officially Launch Joint Bid to Host FIFA Women's World Cup 2031™". ussoccer.com.
  10. 1 2 Keogh, Emily (April 3, 2025). "Infantino: USA set to host 2031 Women's World Cup, UK gets 2035". ESPN. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "FIFA Council takes landmark decisions on the future of the FIFA Women's World Cup and on the fight against racism". Inside FIFA. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  12. ↑ Sheldon, Dan; Linehan, Meg (December 4, 2024). "FIFA exploring Women's World Cup 48-team expansion". The Athletic. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  13. ↑ Drury, Sam (May 9, 2025). "Women's World Cup to be expanded to 48 teams from 2031". BBC Sport. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  14. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup 2031 Overview of Hosting Requirements" (PDF). FIFA. March 6, 2025. p. 4. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  15. ↑ "🇨🇷⚽ Costa Rica y tres más: Estas serán las sedes del Mundial Femenino 2031" (in Spanish). elmundo.cr. October 19, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  16. ↑ "U.S. expands 2031 Women's World Cup bid into 4-nation effort with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica". Yahoo Sports. October 20, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  17. ↑ "México va por otro Mundial, buscan la Copa del Mundo Femenil 2031" (in Spanish). El Heraldo de México. October 17, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Potential host cities talk 2031 Women's World Cup after U.S. Soccer initiates selection process". The Athletic. June 13, 2025.
  19. ↑ Aldridge, David (September 17, 2025). "D.C. Council approves $3.8 billion Commanders stadium project". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  20. ↑ Pelit, Asli (October 22, 2025). "The Women's World Cup is set to expand (again) in 2031. Will host cities be able to capitalize?" – via NYTimes.com.
  21. ↑ "Breaking new ground! Jamaica unveils ambitious National Stadium redesign for 2029 completion". Caribbean National Weekly. July 18, 2025.
  22. ↑ Goldblatt, Henry. "Goals for 2027, 2031: More FIFA Women's Soccer on Netflix". Netflix Tudum. Archived from the original on October 1, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  23. ↑ Davidson, Neil. "Netflix secures broadcast rights in Canada to 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on September 2, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  24. ↑ "China Media Group confirmed as official broadcaster in China PR for FIFA World Cup 2026™ and FIFA World Cup 2030™". inside.fifa.com. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  25. ↑ "FIFA and Netflix sign historic broadcast deal for 2027 and 2031 editions of FIFA Women's World Cup". FIFA. December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 national associations". UEFA.com. July 30, 2026. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  27. ↑ Romero, Dennis (July 31, 2026). "FIFA President nixes idea to sell stakes in World Cup to private equity investors". NBC News. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  28. ↑ Rampling, Ali (August 1, 2026). "UEFA has 'lost confidence' in Gianni Infantino, accuses him of 'shabby, back room' deal". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
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