CHICAGO — The women’s World Cup is coming back to the United States.
If U.S. Soccer has its way, that is.
Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone said Saturday that U.S. Soccer is committed to bringing the 2031 World Cup to the United States and Mexico, and is just waiting for FIFA to open the bidding process.
‘As soon as they do, we’ll put our bid in,’ Cone said during an appearance at the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
‘And we’re going to win it.’
FIFA has not said when the bidding process will begin or when the 2031 tournament would be awarded. While the site of the men’s tournament is typically announced at least seven years in advance, FIFA did not select Brazil to host the 2027 women’s World Cup until last May. Australia and New Zealand, which co-hosted the tournament in 2023, was not announced until 2020.
But FIFA reportedly wants to expand the World Cup in 2031 so it’s the same size as the men’s tournament, 48 teams, which could mean it will give the host more time to get ready.
Having the first 48-team women’s tournament in the United States and Mexico would be fitting, U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson said, because the two countries and Canada are hosting the first expanded men’s tournament next summer. The same venues that are being used for 2026 would be used for 2031, Cone and Batson said.
The men’s tournament is being staged in 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and all U.S. games will be played in NFL stadiums. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
‘America knows how to throw a sports party, and the women’s World Cup deserves the same party as the men’s World Cup,’ Batson said. ‘We think that, from a growth of the game broadly, from a commercial revenue standpoint, which is so important to enabling countries all across the world to invest in their women’s soccer programs, we think we’re uniquely positioned to throw a great event but also generate the resources that can invest in women’s soccer around the world.’
The U.S. interest in the 2031 World Cup isn’t a surprise. The United States and Mexico were among the initial bidders for the 2027 tournament, but announced last April that they were withdrawing the bid and would instead focus on 2031.
Cone said Saturday that U.S. Soccer wouldn’t have been able to promote the 2027 tournament the way it should be until after the men’s World Cup in 2026, and she didn’t want the women’s event to be overshadowed. Cone also said there was a concern some fans wouldn’t be able to afford to attend World Cups in back-to-back years.
‘It was hard for us to shift from 2027 to 2031, but we all felt it was the best thing for the sport,’ Cone said. ‘I wanted that build-up so we can put the same focus and energy into the women’s World Cup that we are into the men’s World Cup.’
If the United States and Mexico are chosen as 2031 hosts, it would be the third time in this country for the women’s World Cup. The United States hosted the 1999 World Cup, which gave the first glimpse of the economic power of women’s sports. Most games were played in sold-out NFL stadiums, and the 90,000-plus fans who packed the Rose Bowl to see the USWNT beat China in the final set an attendance record for a women’s game that stood for more than 20 years. Cone was a player on that ’99 squad.
The United States also hosted the 2003 World Cup after FIFA moved it from China because of concerns about SARS.
‘We think we helped set the standard for women’s soccer,’ Batson said, ‘and we can help raise that to new heights.’