Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, has revealed that the UK is the sole bidder to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup.
Infantino confirmed that the UK holds the only valid bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup while speaking at UEFA’s annual congress in Belgrade. He added that the US and potentially other CONCACAF members are looking to host the competition in 2031.
“I can confirm that we have received one bid for 2031, and one valid bid for 2035,” he said. “The 2031 bid is from the USA and potentially some other Concacaf nations. The 2035 bid is from Europe, from the home nations.”
The UK’s respective Football Associations (FA) – English FA, Scottish FA, Welsh FA and Northern Irish FA – submitted a joint declaration of interest in hosting the competition last month.
All the UK needs to do now is submit an official bid in the fourth quarter of this year, which, if accepted by FIFA, would see England host its first World Cup since 1966 – the only time the nation has won the competition.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared his support of the bid, stating that hosting the tournament would be a “monumental moment” in the history of the UK.
At the time, he 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.”
FIFA’s process for potential hosts is set up to allow several bidders to present their plans to host the tournament, though in recent years this hasn’t been the case.
Morocco, Spain and Portugal submitted a joint bid to host the 2030 Men’s World Cup, in which they were the only official bidders. Saudi Arabia was also the only country to submit an official bid for the 2034 Men’s tournament.
This lack of competition has caused several issues. People feel that the lack of bidders has been a reason why countries with controversial human rights records, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have been able to host the competition.
Last year, Amnesty International, a global non-governmental organisation focused on raising awareness around poor human rights records, raised concerns about this lack of choice and published a 91-page report.
Steve Cockburn, Head of Labour Rights and Sports at Amnesty International, said: “With only a single bid to host each tournament and major human rights concerns surrounding both, there are huge questions about FIFA’s willingness to stand by the pledges and reforms it has made in recent years, including exercising its right to reject any bid which does not meet its stated human rights requirements.”
However, this may not be solely FIFA’s fault. There has been an increase in recent years of bids, like the UK’s, involving more than one country.
The FIFA World Cup is the most-watched sports event in the world, and with this comes expectations. Each edition has seen the governing body push the boundaries of commercialisation and entertainment.
While this progress grows the game and benefits the economy of the host, it requires infrastructure and large amounts of funding, which has led to nations teaming up to secure a successful bid.
