The FIFA Congress will pick from a winnowed field of two candidates to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup at its meeting in Bangkok this week, Associated Press reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A joint bid by the United States and Mexico was pulled late last month, and South Africa withdrew its candidacy in November. That left only two bids standing for Friday’s vote: A joint proposal from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and another from Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the first time that all 211 of FIFA’s members associations will have the opportunity weigh in on the host of the women’s tournament. Previously, it was decided by the FIFA Council, the governing body’s decision-making committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil’s strong bid<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil is favored to win the contest, particularly after ranking higher in a FIFA evaluation report last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The document shows Brazil has fulfilled with excellency all the rigid demands of the bidding process,\u201d Brazilian soccer confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil\u2019s bid, titled \u201cAs Natural as Football,\u201d emphasises an event that will inspire women and girls, as well raise awareness of such issues as sustainability, social responsibility and inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil was also in the running for the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup, but dropped out citing lingering hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan also withdrew late in that process. When the bids were ultimately considered, there were only two, Colombia and the joint submission from Australia and New Zealand, which ultimately won with 63 percent of the council’s vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil has hosted two men\u2019s World Cups, in 1950 and 2014, and the 2016 Olympics. A South American country has never hosted a Women’s World Cup and fellow CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) nations are likely to support the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe results published by FIFA add to our strength, so we can work harder in this final sprint,” Rodrigues said. “We will work more, so we can get the biggest number of votes possible. We want everyone\u2019s support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BNG proposes 13 host cities<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2011 and the Netherlands hosted the 2017 Women’s European Championship. Among the advantages of the \u201cBNG\u201d (Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany) proposal: There are 13 possible host cities that are accessible by train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their bid \u2014 titled \u201cBreaking New Ground,\u201d using the countries’ initials \u2014 marks the first time the three traditional rivals have collaborated as prospective hosts. Belgium and the Netherlands co-hosted the men’s European Championship in 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a fantastic combination of knowledge from organising those big tournaments together, with some new ideas,\u201d German soccer federation secretary-general Heike Ullrich told The Associated Press. \u201cOne very important thing for us was when it comes to organising a tournament is that it is compact \u2026 so \u2018local but global\u2019 is one slogan. The longest distance between two venues is 300 kilometres (185 miles), which means for teams and fans, they can just find their base camp and from there they can go from A to B.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The evaluation report flagged risks within the legal \u201ccontractual framework\u201d that FIFA requires to host the event in the BNG proposal. Ullrich countered that any complications from working with three different governments would be ironed out, and that something like transport, for example, is only arranged after a successful bid. Germany will host the men\u2019s European Championship this year, when ticket holders will have free local transport to games and discounted long-distance services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is just a question of timing, and when we take these steps,\u201d Ullrich said. \u201cOf course we will match everything FIFA needs to have a FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Economic benefit to host<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hosting the event has a growing economic benefit, too. The Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015 drew 1.35 million spectators. There was US$493.6 million in economic activity generated by the tournament and the under-20 Women’s World Cup the year before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At last year’s World Cup it almost doubled, generating US$865.7 million for Australia and US$67.87 million for co-host New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States and Mexico withdrew at the end of April after touting US$3 billion in economic impact. But the sports calendar was already crowded with the United States, Mexico and Canada set to host the men’s World Cup in 2026, and Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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