By Victor Kanayo
Four countries – Brazil or Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany (BNG) are jostling to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
To this end, FIFA will vote to decide which country gets the hosting right.
FIFA’s 211 member associations will vote for their preferred host at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17, 2024.
Report revealed that so far the bids met hosting criteria, but Brazil scored higher on technical aspects covering areas such as stadiums, accommodation, fan zones and transport.
If Brazil’s bid is successful, it will be the first time the tournament will be held in South America.
Other bidding nations are from Europe.
A bid evaluation report published by FIFA, showed Brazil’s bid scored 4.0 out of five in a technical evaluation, while the BNG joint bid scored 3.7.
The report said: “It is worth noting that, if the bid were successful, South America would be hosting the competition for the first time, which could have a tremendous impact on women’s football in the region.”
However, the report highlighted the BNG bid’s “compact tournament footprint” with “short distances between the proposed venues”, while Brazil would require air travel between host cities “which is carbon intensive”.
Last week, the United States and Mexico withdrew their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup and said they would focus on bidding for the tournament in 2031, while South Africa did the same in November.
