The United Kingdom is planning a bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup.
The Football Association’s of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have announced their intention to submit a collective expression of interest to hold the tournament, which if successful would mark the first time the UK has hosted the Women’s World Cup.
The bidding process for the 2035 competition was launched at a FIFA Council meeting on Wednesday, with football’s international governing body inviting member associations affiliated to UEFA or the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to bid for the tournament.
The joint UK bid for 2035 appears to pave the way for the U.S. and Mexico to host the tournament in 2031.
FIFA say a decision on the host nations for both 2031 and 2035 is anticipated in 2026.
UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer said: “The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 on home turf would be another monumental moment in our sporting history, driving growth and leaving a lasting legacy. The FAs’ intention to bid has my government’s full support.“
UK Sport, the government-funded agency responsible for leading major sporting event hosting, announced in March 2024 that the Women’s World Cup had been identified as one of 70 major sports events the UK could aim to hold by 2040.
The 2031, 2035 or 2039 Women’s World Cups were earmarked as potential targets, and speaking in 2023, English Football Association chairwoman Debbie Hewitt described the possibility of England hosting the 2031 tournament as a “very attractive proposition”.
However, U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Soccer Federation announced in April their intention to lodge a joint bid for the 2031 tournament. The two federations withdrew their bid for the 2027 World Cup to instead focus on 2031. The Athletic reported in May that England were considering pivoting away from 2031, with a joint home nations bid a possibility.
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FIFA confirmed at Wednesday’s meeting that member associations from CAF and Concacaf are invited to bid for the 2031 edition.
By the time the 2035 World Cup comes around, the tournament could have been expanded to 48 teams, with The Athletic reporting in December the possibility of expansion was being explored by FIFA.
The Women’s World Cup was most recently increased from 24 teams to 32 ahead of the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand, but some member associations are lobbying for it to be brought in line with the men’s competition, which has increased to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
England hosted the Men’s World Cup in 1966 and unsuccessfully bid to host the 2018 tournament. A joint United Kingdom and Ireland bid for the 2030 tournament was dropped in 2022, instead turning their attentions to the bid for Euro 2028, which was ultimately successful.
England has twice hosted a senior women’s international major football tournament, staging the Euros in 2022 and 2005. Should the bid be successful it would mark the first major women’s tournament hosted in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
