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'ssoccer championship contested by the national teams that represent the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be the first to involve 48 national teams, including that of the host nation.
The main hosts will be Mexico and the United States with Costa Rica and Jamaica hosting games as well, which will be the third Women's World Cup the United States will host, after 1999 and 2003; the latter was moved from China because of the SARS outbreak there. The United States already hosted the 1994 men's World Cup and is set to co-host the 2026 edition with Mexico and Canada. The country has also hosted the Copa América Centenario in 2016, the 2024 Copa América, and every CONCACAF Gold Cup. This will be the first time Mexico will host the FIFA Women's World Cup, thus becoming the seventh country—after Sweden, the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and Brazil—to host both the men's and women's World Cup, having hosted the former in 1970, 1986, and 2026. This will be the first senior FIFA World Cup of either sexes 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 level in 2014 and the U-20 level in 2022. This will also be the first Women's World Cup to be hosted in more than two countries.
The host nation for the 2031 Women's World Cup is scheduled to be decided officially by the 76th FIFA Congress on April 30, 2026 in Vancouver, two years after the host selection for the 2027 edition.[1][2] On March 5, 2025, the FIFA Council approved the bid regulations which restricted bids to CONCACAF and CAF members.[3] The key dates include:[4]
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
April 30, 2026: Appointment of the 2031 and 2035 Women's World Cup hosts at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada[5]
On April 3, 2025, FIFA announced that the United States bid was the only valid bid with other CONCACAF nations eligible to host games.[6] The United States bid had been announced alongside Mexico and had explored a limited number of matches in Costa Rica and Jamaica. Mexico later joined the United States as hosts on May 27, 2025.[7] Costa Rica and Jamaica later joined the United States and Mexico as hosts in October 20, 2025.[8]
The expansion of Women's World Cup from 32 to 48 teams comes with the success of 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the number of participants was increased from 24 to 32 teams.[9][10] The rapid growth of women's soccer in the 2020s led to the potential expansion following suit with the men's World Cup.[11] 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.[citation needed] On April 3, 2025, the tournament was expanded to 48 teams starting from the 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup and it was confirmed one month later on May 9, 2025.[9][10][12]
This will be the first FIFA Women's World Cup to include 48 teams, an increase from 32 teams, mirroring the expansion of Men's World Cup since 2026. The teams will be split in 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 existing venues. The stadiums would have minimum seating capacities of 20,000 for most matches, 40,000 for semifinal matches, and 65,000 for the opening match and final.[13] However, additional changes will be made to accommodate the expansion to 48.
In Costa Rica, the only city interested is San José.[14]
In Jamaica, the only city interested is Kingston.[15]
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.
↑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 April 30, 2026.
↑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 April 30, 2026.
↑It was revealed that Costa Rica 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 April 30, 2026.
↑It was revealed that 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 April 30, 2026.
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