As someone else pointed up already, this is too much for women's football at the moment and it will lead to many non-competitive games at group stage.
Totally stupid. Everywhere we turn, these sports governing bodies, owners want to add more and more games, expand the tournaments. It's all greed-focused stupidity. The World Cup is already too big and bloated and too long, with too many teams. 48 teams is absolutely ridiculous.
better make sure you have extra hotel rooms: Women’s World Cup to feature 48 teams from 2031 - SportsPro
Mexico confirms co-hosting 2031 Women's World Cup with United States Mexico's press release said it was designated to co-host the 2031 World Cup alongside the United States "and other Concacaf countries, with parity in the number of matches." - article by Jeff Kassouf at ESPN
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...nch-joint-bid-host-fifa-womens-world-cup-2031 Confirms Costa Rica and Jamaica will join the bid
Jamaica seems odd to join the co-hosting bid. How many games can they actually host? 3 + a playoff game?
Probably that or they get the 2030 treatment of one game to count as a World Cup Caribbean game. However I think they'll get a group to host.
Jeff Kassouf The U.S. Soccer Federation's 2031 Women's World Cup bid...nobody in New York would answer how many games any country will host.
Unfortunate timing for Jamaica, as its gov't continues to secure reconstruction funds after Hurricane Melissa. Upgrading its Kingston venue to WWC standards will be tough to justify with reconstruction funds badly needed in western Jamaica. Looking at logistics, Jamaica is isolated from two WWC bidders: - zero direct flights from Costa Rica - direct flights to Mexico's capital only, none to other Mexican cities with WC-standard venues According to FIFA, 2031 WWC bid book must be submitted on Nov 2025. It would be sensible for Jamaica to sit this one out.
While nobody in the bidding party is going to fault them for sitting out and would be ok with them doing so, I highly doubt the JFF is going to give up this opportunity especially since this might not happen again for a while. 1962 was played after the Valdivia earthquake so I could see the JFF pointing to that on why they should keep going.
Whether or not it will be realistic for Jamaica to try to get ready to host, deciding to try might spur recovery investments to occur faster than they otherwise would and actually hosting might speed their economic recovery, especially because of the importance to them of tourism. It will be interesting to see which way they decide to go on this. Whatever they decide will not undo the damage and human suffering that has occurred, but it might relate to how well they ultimately come out of it.
JFF better not point to that 1962 WC, as it was run on a shoestring. The Chilean gov't moved funds towards relief efforts after the 1960 earthquake. WC spending evaporated, going from 8 planned venues down to 3. A mining company loaned out its private venue so that 1962 WC could be hosted across 4 venues. 1962 WC got the lowest goals per match average of all WCs. Playmakers became very cagey, as playing surfaces deteriorated due to overuse and lack of maintenance funds. JFF has time and luck on their side. The hurricane destroyed western Jamaica, while its Kingston venue suffered flooding damage in eastern Jamaica. The question is how soon they can start upgrading that venue, when all construction machinery must be diverted to western Jamaica.
From what I can tell, this appears to be the list of proposed stadiums that they have for all four countries. The asterisks are the ones they have tentatively as the ones they would select, but kind of like 2026 it will probably be a full announcement a few years prior so nothing is fully set in stone. Chase Stadium that has been reported is seemingly mentioned as Freedom Park.
United States: Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium (70k)* Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium (73k) Birmingham Protective Stadium (42k) Boston Gillette Stadium (65k) Charlotte Bank of America Stadium (75k)* Cincinnati TQL Stadium (26k) Cleveland / Columbus Huntington Bank Field (65k) Lower.com Field (21k) Dallas–Fort Worth AT&T Stadium (92k)* Toyota Stadium (21k) Denver Empower Field at Mile High (76k)* Houston NRG Stadium (72k)* Shell Energy Stadium (21k) Indianapolis Indianapolis Prof. Soccer Stadium (25k) Kansas City GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (76k)* CPKC Stadium (20k) Los Angeles SoFi Stadium (70k)* LA Memorial Coliseum (78k) Rose Bowl (91k) Dignity Health Sports Park (27k) Miami Chase Stadium (22k) Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium (66k)* Nashville Nissan Stadium (70k) Geodis Park (25k)* New York / New Jersey MetLife Stadium (85k)* Sports Illustrated Stadium (26k) Etihad Park (24k) Orlando Camping World Stadium (63k)* Inter & Co Stadium (25k) Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field (68k) Phoenix State Farm Stadium (73k) Salt Lake City America First Field (20k) San Diego Snapdragon Stadium (32k)* San Francisco / Bay Area Levi’s Stadium (60k) Oracle Park (35k) Seattle Lumen Field (69k)* St. Louis Energizer Park (22k) Tampa Bay Raymond James Stadium (65k) Washington, D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Stadium (65k)* Audi Field (20k) Mexico: Guadalajara Estadio Akron (48k)* Mexico City Estadio Banorte (83k)* Monterrey Estadio BBVA (53k)* Estadio Universitario (37k) Pachuca Estadio Miguel Hidalgo (26k) Torreón Territorio Santos Modelo (30k)* Querétaro Estadio Corregidora (34k) Costa Rica: San José Estadio Nacional (35k)* Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá (23k) Jamaica: Kingston National Stadium (37k)* Stadiums with an asterisk are the 20 sample selection, nothing is finalized.
There was something about pricing and I really hope they won't use dynamic pricing like at the MWC 2026.
Unfortunately knowing business here we will probably see that. *Sigh* I really wanted to see the USWNT in person as well please don't jack up the prices in LA.
The bid book projects $4 million in revenue, and notably includes a chart of proposed ticket prices. “We aim to ensure that all types of stakeholders have access to the tournament experience through tailored ticketing strategies designed to maximize value across both the group and knockout stages”
US Cities fighting back. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.c...-world-cup-hosting-terms-without-negotiation/ More than two dozen American cities are eager to host matches as part of U.S. Soccer’s joint bid with Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Those cities, however, declined to sign long-form agreements that FIFA expected ahead of last month’s bid deadline. Leaders of the cities included in the joint bid are seeking the opportunity to negotiate more favorable terms with FIFA before agreeing to anything binding. So far, they have only been willing to sign non-binding, one-page memorandums of understanding provided by U.S. Soccer. These fall well short of the commitments required to make the bid compliant with FIFA’s rules, which state that host city and stadium agreement templates must be submitted “signed and in unaltered form.” This suggests most of the primary and back up cities. There is more in the article as well. Will be interesting to see how much influence Hayes and co have on how the tournament is put on. And I'm thinking more for the teams/players than the fans.
I think, we see what is happening with the 2026 MWC and the tickets pricing pushback by fans. I see the US WNT tickets are in general much more expensive that what we see in Europe and I can see the 2031 WWC realling going the same way as the 2026 MWC which would be a shame for fans.
In the US for soccer, the women's side have pushed back more against the powers that be. Would not be surprised if the concessions the cities are asking for get granted, in part or in whole.
How will the vote for this and 2035 even work in a month? I mean there is really no other option for either, is it just Yes/No or abstain? I'm honestly surprised that if the USSF knows this they haven't really said much about what will happen for this alongside Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.