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≡ ANOTHER U.S. WORLD CUP ≡
FIFA decided in April that the U.S. would be the main site for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, but the details are only now available as the bid documents were submitted on 28 November.
As expected, the U.S. has teamed with Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica to make this a “CONCACAF” bid, but with most of the action in the U.S., as with the men’s 2026 World Cup:
● Expansion of the tournament from 32 teams in 2027 in Brazil to 48 teams, as for the men in 2026, with an expected 104 games.
● Many stadium options for FIFA, with a group of 20 venues offered, with 14 in the U.S., four in Mexico and one each in Jamaica and Costa Rica.
● Multiple additional choices in venues, with 26 added options in the U.S., two more in Mexico and one in Costa Rica.
The 273-page bid was summarized this way:
“We know that a FIFA Women’s World Cup of the scale offered by our four nations will unlock the full potential of this tournament, capitalizing on economic opportunity by bringing more than 4.5 million fans into stadiums, capturing the highest TV viewership ever for a women’s sporting event, and generating more than $4 billion in total revenue. This will create significant investment potential and allow FIFA, along with Jamaica, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States, to collectively leave an enduring legacy.”
The venues offered as the primary choices for FIFA utilize 10 of the sites to be used for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in both the U.S. and Mexico (*= 2026 FIFA World Cup sites):
Costa Rica (1):
● San Jose: Estadio Nacional (35,000)
Jamaica (1):
● Kingston: National Stadium (37,000)
Mexico (4):
● Guadalajara: Estadio Akron (48,000)*
● Mexico City: Estadio Banorte (83,000)*
● Monterrey: Estadio BBVA (53,000)*
● Torreon: Territorio Santos Modelo (30,000)
United States (14):
● Atlanta: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (70,000)*
● Charlotte: Bank of America Stadium (75,000)
● Dallas: AT&T Stadium (92,000)*
● Denver: Mile High Stadium (76,000)
● Houston: NRG Stadium (72,000)*
● Kansas City: Arrowhead Stadium (76,000)*
● Los Angeles: Sofi Stadium (70,000)*
● Minneapolis: U.S. Bank Stadium (66,000)
● Nashville: Geodis Park (25,000)
● New York-New Jersey: MetLife Stadium (85,000)*
● Orlando: Camping World Stadium (63,000)
● San Diego: Snapdragon Stadium (32,000)
● Seattle: Lumen Field (69,000)*
● Washington, D.C.: Robert F. Kennedy Stadium (65,000)
Compared to the 2026 sites, the same three venues in Mexico are proposed and seven of the 11 U.S. stadia. Of the 14 American venues, 12 are current or former NFL sites and two are smaller facilities used primarily for soccer now (Nashville and San Diego).
This 2031 bid is a grown-up version of the abandoned bid for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which would have been a co-host with Mexico. The bid concept then was to offer the same three Mexican venues and 11 American stadiums, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, New York-New Jersey and Seattle, but also Boston, Miami, Pasadena, Philadelphia and Santa Clara, which were dropped for 2031.
The 2027 bid summary was:
“We know that a FIFA Women’s World Cup of the scale offered by the United States and Mexico will unlock the full potential of this tournament at a unique moment in time, capitalizing on economic opportunity by bringing over 4.5 million fans into stadiums, capturing the highest TV viewership ever for a women’s sporting event and generating over $3 billion in total revenue.”
That $3 billion revenue figure was jaw-dropping, but the 2031 bid goes 33% further:
“In 2023, the FIFA Women’s World Cup generated $570 million in revenue, breaking
records for both television broadcast (an estimated 2 billion viewers) and live attendance (1.9 million), while inspiring billions around the globe.
“Building on the global momentum of 2026 and FIFA’s projection of $1 billion in revenue for the 2027 tournament, this excitement is expected to reach even greater heights in 2031, with total revenues projected to approach $4 billion.”
The breakdown:
● $1.4 billion: marketing and sponsorship
● $1.0 billion: broadcast rights
● $550 million: tickets
● $400 million: concessions-merchandise-parking
● $350 million: fan festivals
● $300 million: hospitality
Projected ticket prices are shown, with group-stage matches at $35-75-120 and then moving up through the playoffs rounds to the semis at $100-130-450 and the final at $120-350-600.
This compares with the $570 million in total revenue from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and FIFA’s goal of $1 billion from the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
How does this compare to the 2026 FIFA World Cup? It’s a lot less, but getting closer. FIFA’s projections for 2026 World Cup revenue include $8.911 billion in all:
● $3.925 billion: broadcast rights
● $3.017 billion: tickets and hospitality
● $1.786 billion: marketing and sponsorship
● $111 million: licensing
● $72 million: other revenues
FIFA expects to spend $3.756 billion in total to put on the 2026 World Cup. No expense calculations were shown in the 2031 Women’s World Cup bid.
The happy part of the revenue projections for the bidders is that FIFA, under its current model where it organizes the tournament itself, the bidding member associations – led by U.S. Soccer – don’t have to do anything. FIFA will do it all.
It’s an impressive bid, with enormous potential in NFL stadiums, but with the underlying assumption that women’s sport will continue to expand between 2025 and 2031 at a break-neck pace. Whether that becomes reality is yet to be seen.
¶
FIFA also published the bid documents for the England-Northern Ireland-Scotland-Wales bid for 2035, with 19 existing stadia offered, of which 14 are in England. Three more venues are to be built or expanded and could be used if desired.
The attendance projections are for 4.5 million tickets sold and a 3.5 billion worldwide television audience, and projections are made for in-stadium revenues:
● $393 million: tickets
● $148 million: hospitality
● $59 million: merchandise
● $44 million: concessions
That’s $644 million vs. $1.25 billion for the 2031 bid, apart from broadcast rights, sponsorship and fan fest revenues. However, the British bid also include an expectation of some government funding as well:
“Governments at national and city level are committed to working with FIFA to deliver a safe, inclusive and financially successful tournament. Their contributions will encompass both financial and in-kind support, including the provision of essential public services, event operations and assistance with infrastructure, security and transport.”
What’s next? The formal confirmation of both bids will come at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada, on 30 April 2026.
¶
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