U.S., Mexico to jointly bid to host 2027 Womens World Cup

June 21, 2024

The United States and Mexico will jointly bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, their national soccer federations announced Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:

The U.S., Mexico and Canada are hosting the 2026 Men’s World Cup. The 2028 Olympics are also taking place in the U.S. — in Los Angeles.
Brazil also announced last month that it will bid to host the 2027 event; a joint bid of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and another from South Africa are also in contention.
FIFA is expected to announce its choice in May 2024, U.S. Soccer said.

Together for 2027. 🇺🇸🇲🇽

The United States and Mexico will bid to host @FIFAWWC 2027 🏆 pic.twitter.com/t93UzXqb1L

— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) April 20, 2023

Backstory

FIFA’s deadline for member associations to submit expressions of interest to host was Wednesday, U.S. Soccer said. May 19 is the deadline to submit bidding agreements; U.S. Soccer and the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) will provide more information on the bid close to that date.

The United States has previously hosted the Women’s World Cup twice, in 1999 and in 2003. The 1999 event was hosted at eight venues around the country and the 2003 event was held in six cities after it was moved from China. Mexico has never hosted a Women’s World Cup.

The American women are looking to three-peat at this year’s World Cup being held in Australia and New Zealand.

Was this expected?

U.S. Soccer has said for a while that it intended to bid for either the 2027 or 2031 World Cup as part of its overall plans for the growth of the game in America. So while 2027 might have felt like the more unexpected of those two options, bringing in Mexico — who the U.S. worked with as part of the 2026 bid — makes the closer option feel a little more realistic. — Linehan

Does the bid make sense?

The U.S. hasn’t hosted a Women’s World Cup since 2003 (which was a hastily arranged affair after the tournament was moved from China), but there’s certainly the infrastructure and experience to handle a major event on this scale. It would be Mexico’s first Women’s World Cup, but with the exponential growth of the women’s game, it’s a natural pairing for U.S. Soccer. Hosting back-to-back World Cups in 2026 and 2027 could act as a major catalyst for both countries.

They will certainly have competition, and they won’t be the only combo bid. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have expressed their interest in bidding, and multiple other nations have also said they’re considering a 2027 bid. — Linehan

What they’re saying

“The United States has always been a global leader for the women’s game, and we would be honored to co-host the world’s premier event for women’s soccer along with Mexico,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said in a release Wednesday. “Hosting the 2027 Women’s World Cup provides us an incredible opportunity to cap off two historic years of World Cup soccer in the CONCACAF region, helping us continue to grow the game among our confederation associations.”

Added FMF president Yon de Luisa: “Women’s football in Mexico has experienced sustained growth over the last five years and its development, both on and off the field, coupled with the female empowerment it has achieved and will continue to achieve, is one of the strategic priorities of the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol. … It is with pleasure that we are teaming up again with the U.S. Soccer Federation in the pursuit of this World Cup for our region, which will undoubtedly be historic.”

"We're enemies tonight in-between the lines, but we obviously collaborate and want to help to grow the region here in Concacaf."
— @cone_cindy on the United States @FIFAWWC 2027 bid with Mexico

More details » https://t.co/PSLcvzHC1I pic.twitter.com/dqU5wWrTJ6

— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) April 20, 2023

(Photo of Parlow Cone: Scott Taetsch / USA Today)

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