FIFA announced the eight cities that will host matches at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil on Wednesday, primarily selecting sites on the South American country's East Coast over tropical regions that require more extensive travel.

In addition to Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracanã Stadium, the tournament's 64 games will take place across Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo.

"The selection of the host cities represents the moment where the dream begins to take shape," said Brazil’s minister of sport André Fufuca. "Each of the selected host cities represents Brazil — a diverse and vibrant Brazil, with people who are passionate about football, and places that already live and breathe the sport and that will now have the opportunity to leave a transformative legacy for their communities and for generations to come."

The 32 teams battling for the 2027 World Cup will begin their hunt on June 24th of that year, with the final taking place on July 25th.

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Marta, Formiga help announce 2027 World Cup cities

To bolster the news, FIFA tapped famous Brazilians for its announcement video, including star futsal player Amandinha and two-time NWSL champion Debinha.

Also helping drop the eight cities were the country’s most iconic women's soccer legends, Marta — the World Cup's all-time leading scorer — and Formiga, the only athlete to compete in seven editions of the tournament.

"I won't be on the pitch in 2027, but I'm always ready to represent Brazilian football – even more so at a special moment like this," said the retired Formiga.

"I know every corner of our country, and I can tell you: Each of these cities is full of women's football talents who need support and inspiration," she continued. "The Women's World Cup will be an opportunity for them to see the greatest up close and think, 'If they can be there, so can I.' That's the impact that only an event of this size can have."

Using the 2027 World Cup — the first ever hosted in South America — to grow the women's game is top-of-mind for former player Mariléia "Michael Jackson" dos Santos, who now serves as the country's director of women's football promotion.

"We want to create a solid network that will last well beyond 2027," said dos Santos. "The idea is to decentralise the impact so that women's football flourishes in every corner of the country."

"It's a unique opportunity to change the game, and we're going to make the most of it because Brazilian women's football deserves it, and so do the girls in our country."

Brazil has been named the host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with FIFA announced early Friday. 

The decision came after a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, with Brazil earning 119 votes to the joint European bid’s 78. 

This will be Brazil’s first time hosting the Women’s World Cup, with the country having hosted the men’s World Cup twice before in 1950 and 2014. It will also be the first Women’s World Cup held in South America. The tournament will follow the same 32-team format as the 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand.

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Brazil winning the bid was not entirely surprising after FIFA issued a report just last week, stating that the Brazilian bid had pulled ahead as host following technical inspection. After evaluation, Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5, compared to the 3.7 awarded to the Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. Though considered to be a frontrunner, the US and Mexico withdrew their joint bid prior to the technical inspection period, saying they would instead focus their efforts on 2031.

On Friday, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues called it a "victory." 

"We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women's soccer and for women," he told reporters. "You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women."

"We are working on a transformation, not only for the country but for the continent," added bid team operational manager Valesca Araujo.

Brazil intends to use 10 of the venues utilized at the 2014 men’s World Cup, including holding the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 25th. The CBF's proposal outlines that the 2027 tournament run from June 24th through the end of July. Last summer’s World Cup began at the end of July and concluded on August 19th.

Another notable element of Brazil's newly unveiled plan to grow of the women’s game is that "all [men’s] clubs wishing to take part in high-level national and continental competitions must now provide a structure for a women’s team." While the definition of "structure" was not specifically identified, the country has set targets with CONMEBOL to help increase the number of women’s club teams in the country.

In last week's inspection findings, FIFA noted that selecting Brazil as the next WWC host could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."

FIFA has set the dates for the first edition of the Women’s Club World Cup.

The first Women's Club World Cup will take place in January-February 2026, with the 16-team tournament held every four years after that, FIFA said in Wednesday's statement. Initial plans to introduce a Women’s Club World Cup were revealed in May 2021 by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who then called it was part of a plan to "revolutionize" the women’s game.

"It’s crucial, after the huge, huge success in Australia and New Zealand at the last [FIFA] Women's World Cup, where we had two million viewers in the stadiums [and] two billion around the world, that we build on that success to create new global competitions, because national team football is obviously based on club football as well," Infantino said following today's FIFA Council meeting, which occurred in advance of the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok.

The council additionally unanimously approved a new international match calendar with a focus on increased opportunities for rest and recovery for both players and coaches. The overloaded calendar in the women’s game has been a growing point of contention for players as the number of injuries — specifically ACL injuries — continue to rise.

Between summer international tournaments and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain European teams had to contend with the possibility of extremely condensed playing demands. That meant balancing workloads between the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021), 2022 European Championships, 2023 Women's World Cup, 2024 Olympics, and another Euros in 2025. 

When England failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics in December 2023, captain Leah Williamson told the Telegraph that she and her teammates were actually a bit relieved to have the summer off.

"It's horrendous that one of the first things that popped into my head about the Olympics was, 'at least they'll probably all get another two or three years on their career now, because they'll get a summer off,'" she said. "Everyone needs a rest and now they'll get one.

"Nowadays we get to October and girls are saying, 'I'm tired,' because you're carrying so much from the previous season. We are driving ourselves into the ground with it, so some sort of solution needs to be found soon, in terms of the schedule, otherwise it's not sustainable."

It should be said that the international schedule doesn’t include club responsibilities. The NWSL season kicked off this year with a number of players sidelined due to injuries picked up while playing for their national squads. This was an issue for Gotham FC, whose coach Juan Carlos Amorós called out the international schedule after USWNT forward Midge Purce suffered an ACL tear after competing in the Concacaf Women's Gold Cup.

"We lost Midge during the game which for me is a bittersweet flavor," Amorós told reporters after Purce exited Gotham's March 24th match against Portland. "By the way, it’s another player that came from the Gold Cup. Last week, it was Debinha. We are paying the consequences of a tournament that shouldn’t have happened.

"We’re talking about protecting the players, [who shouldn't] go to play an international competition after one week of preseason. We’ve seen the consequences now. We’ve got Rose, Lynn, last week it was Debinha in Kansas [City] and now we have Midge. From my experience, the clubs are going to keep paying for that competition."

On Wednesday, Infantino said that rectifying the international match calendar is another step in enhancing the level of competition across the board.

"The Women's International Match Calendar and the subsequent amendments to our regulations represent an important milestone in our pledge to take the women's game to the next level by enhancing competitiveness across the world," he said.

"This calendar is such a critical tool to ensure we continue to drive global professionalization of women’s football," added FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer Dame Sarai Bareman in a statement. "In many parts of the world, international football provides crucial top-flight playing opportunities for female players, and this is particularly the case in nations where domestic leagues are not yet fully professional. This calendar strikes a balance to enable the domestic and international games to grow side by side, while at the same time ensuring players will have more opportunities to rest, recover, and re-train between windows and following major tournaments."

Former Spanish soccer federation chief Rubiales will stand trial on charges of sexual assault and coercion for his unsolicited kiss of Jenni Hermoso after last year's Women’s World Cup final, a judge confirmed this week.

Back in January, Judge Francisco de Jorge recommended that Rubiales be held accountable for his 2023 actions, calling the kiss "unconsented and carried out unilaterally and in a surprising fashion" and within the bounds of "intimacy of sexual relations." On Wednesday, Spain’s National Court ruled that Rubiales should indeed stand trial.

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Rubiales has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying the kiss was consensual. Hermoso, meanwhile, defined the incident, which occurred during the WWC medal ceremony, as "unexpected and at no time consensual."

Public prosecutors and lawyers for the Spanish Women's National Football Team star and Women's World Cup champion are seeking two and a half years of prison time for Rubiales: one year for sexual assault, and an additional 18 months for participating in coercion.

Rubiales is alleged to have pressured Hermoso into showing support for him following the kiss. Three other officials — including former women's national team head coach Jorge Vilda — are also facing coercion charges that could result in 18 months in prison. 

A trial date has yet to be set. Last October, FIFA banned Rubiales from all football activity for three years. The sentence will be in place through the 2026 Men’s World Cup, but will have expired by the time the 2027 Women's World Cup begins.

Brazil has officially become the favorite to host the 2027 Women's World Cup after FIFA’s technical inspection team awarded them a higher rating than the joint European bid. 

After the US and Mexico dropped out of the running last month, the bid from Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands had previously been pegged to win hosting rights for the next Women's World Cup. But FIFA's latest report shows that Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5 in its technical evaluation, besting the European contender's score of 3.7.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. The country is aiming to reuse 10 of the venues used for the 2014 Men's World Cup in 2027, with the final set to take place in Rio de Janeiro. 

"The Bid Evaluation Report reflects the comprehensive evaluation model that has become a hallmark of FIFA’s enhanced bidding processes for men’s and women’s flagship events, which incorporates a variety of criteria, ranging from event vision and key metrics, infrastructure, services, commercial aspects, and sustainability and human rights," FIFA wrote in a press release.

The report also highlighted the fact that this would be the first Women's World Cup in South America, noting that the decision could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."

Should the EU bid win, it wouldn't be the first WWC in Europe, as Germany played host to the event in 2011 before France in 2019. There could also be further complications for the Germany-Belgium-Netherlands bid: In its report, the evaluation team regarded the bid's legal and contractual framework as "high-risk."

FIFA has promised more planning time for the 2031 Women's World Cup. While the Men's World Cup hosts have already been secured through 2034, the WWC is only three years away with a host yet to be named.

The final vote is set to take place at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17th. It will be the first time FIFA determines a World Cup host via an open vote.

England manager Sarina Wiegman has extended her contract with the team through 2027, the English Football Association announced on Tuesday.

Originally, Wiegman was signed through the 2025 Euros tournament. But this extension keeps her with the team through the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

It comes one day after she was named FIFA’s women’s coach of the year for the fourth time.

Also signing a new contract is assistant coach Arjan Veurink.

“I am so happy to have the chance to lead England through to 2027 after an incredible two and a half years,” Wiegman said. “Looking forward, we have unfinished business and I know we are capable of even more, although nothing will come easy. Our game is becoming so competitive at the top level. I relish that opportunity and can’t wait to start the Euro qualifiers, followed by the World Cup.”

Under Wiegman, the Lionesses reached last year’s World Cup final, where they lost to Spain. Recent struggles have led to the team failing to qualify for the Olympics.

Even still, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said that they were “thrilled” that Wiegman had opted to extend her contract.

“She has achieved so much through her outstanding work as a coach and leader, and there is more to come. The aim with our England teams is to be a consistent competitive force in major tournaments, and Sarina has helped us achieve that – building on what had been several years of positive progress,” Bullingham said.

Wiegman has been with England since September 2021, helping the Lionesses to a historic Euro 2022 win.

Spanish player Jenni Hermoso appeared in court on Tuesday to testify in the sexual assault case against former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales.

Rubiales is named in a lawsuit brought by Spanish state prosecutors, alleging sexual assault and coercion after he kissed Hermoso on the lips without her consent following the 2023 World Cup final. They also say that he tried to convince Hermoso and her relatives to downplay the kiss publicly.

Hermoso’s testimony happened behind closed doors, with Spanish media saying that the forward asked that the appearance be kept as private as possible. She was expected to reiterate to the court that the kiss was unwanted and that both Rubiales and his staff tried to pressure both her and her family into downplaying the incident.

The judge is also hearing testimony from other World Cup-winning players, coaches and federation officials, before deciding whether to take the case to trial. Rubiales has previously denied wrongdoing to the judge, who issued a restraining order against him contacting Hermoso.

Rubiales’ actions at the World Cup – which also included him grabbing his crotch in celebration and “inappropriate” conduct toward England players – sparked international outrage. While he initially refused to resign as president of the RFEF, he later issued his resignation.

FIFA suspended Rubiales for three years, with a report in December showing that the soccer governing body considered more severe sanctions. The report went on to say that the disciplinary committee was satisfied with the three year ban, only with “strong hesitations.”

According to the prosecutors’ office in Madrid, a sexual consent law passed last year could see Rubiales face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty.

Spain has topped the FIFA rankings for the first time, with the World Cup champions ascending to the the No. 1 spot.

Following the 2023 World Cup, Sweden topped the world rankings. But Spain followed up its World Cup win with a string of impressive performances in the Women’s Nations League to finally move into the top spot. The first-time World Cup winners are just the fourth team to ever hold the No. 1 spot after the USWNT, Germany and Sweden.

Spain took five wins in the Nations League – including two over Sweden – to qualify for the Nations League semifinals in February, when they will face the Netherlands.

The USWNT, meanwhile, is up to No. 2 in the rankings after falling to No. 3 in the aftermath of a disappointing World Cup run. France took moved into the third spot.

After missing out on the Olympics and finishing third in their Nations League group, Sweden dropped to fifth. Similarly, European champion and World Cup runner-up England – also out of the Olympics – dropped to fourth.

A record 192 nations now have been featured in the rankings, with Central African Republic and Macau appearing for the first time in the latest edition. North Korea, American Samoa, Madagascar and Bahamas have made a reappearance on the list.

The U.S. Soccer Federation, in conjunction with the Mexico Football Federation, submitted a joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup on Friday.

The bid’s tagline is “NEW HEIGHTS,” which includes a collective vision to “deliver a tournament with the world’s greatest players playing on world-class pitches in sold-out stadiums.”

As part of the bid, USSF cites infrastructure that “is already in place – including training facilities, match venues, base camps and travel accommodations – to deliver an excellent on-field product and top-level performance throughout the entirety of the tournament.”

In a release, U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone called it a “pivotal time for women’s soccer.”

“Around the world, Federations are beginning to invest more and more in the women’s game and records are being rewritten for revenue, viewership, and participation,” Parlow Cone said. “The U.S. and Mexico are in a unique position to host a World Cup that will leverage the same venues, infrastructure, and protocols used for the Men’s World Cup just a year prior.

“As a result, we believe the time is right to host a FIFA Women’s World Cup that features a truly world-class experience for players and fans, alike. This will not only unlock the economic potential of women’s soccer, it will send a message to young players around the world that there is no limit to what they can achieve.”

The U.S. is set to host the 2026 Men’s World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada. The bid for the women’s tournament will utilize “key efficiencies” from that event to help their iteration of the event.

U.S. Soccer had previously announced their intention to submit a bid alongside Mexico. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands submitted their bid on Friday, the deadline to do so, as well. Brazil had previously submitted their bid.

South Africa had put in a bid, but withdrew it in November.

There are still some obstacles in the way of a World Cup being played in the U.S. and Mexico, though. The World Cup has never been hosted by a South American country, making Brazil a high-quality bidder for the tournament. Germany, meanwhile, hosted a World Cup in 2011 and splitting the games between three countries would provide the infrastructure needed for the tournament.

Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands are submitting a bid to FIFA to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, the countries’ football associations said Friday.

Brazil submitted their bid to host last month, while the United States and Mexico have also expressed interest.

Friday is the deadline for member associations to submit their bids to FIFA. South Africa had also submitted a bid, but withdrew that last month in favor of presenting a “well-prepared bid” for the 2031 World Cup.

“Extensive and detailed consultations between the three federations along with key stakeholders including central governments dates back to 2021,” the Dutch football federation (KNVB) said in a statement. “This has led to alignment around the belief that our three countries are well placed to stage a FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 of unparalleled quality and impact.”

Bid cities for the countries’ bid include Brussels, the capital of Belgium; Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands; as well as Düsseldorf and Cologne Germany.

FIFA will conduct on-site inspection visits to bidding countries in February. FIFA Congress will then appoint the 2027 World Cup hosts in May.

Germany has hosted the Women’s World Cup once before, back in 2011, after having won the 2003 and 2007 editions of the World Cup.

This year, Australia and New Zealand hosted the World Cup, which was won by Spain.