The dream of hosting the Women’s World Cup on European soil in 2027 has been dashed. The joint bid by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands was defeated by Brazil at the FIFA Congress on Friday
119:78 votes was the clear final result: the Women’s World Cup 2027 will take place in Brazil. The voters at the FIFA Congress in the Thai capital Bangkok thus defeated the joint bid by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands (abbreviated as BNG).
“I’m euphoric,” said Brazilian federation boss Ednaldo Rodrigues, thanking his team. “I feel a lot of emotion, we knew it was going to be tough. But we knew that united we would be successful.” Brazil will deliver the “best World Cup”. For the first time in the history of world soccer, a Women’s World Cup will be held in South America. “I invite everyone to come to Brazil,” said the head of the association. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said – once again: “It will be the best World Cup ever. “
Disappointment at the DFB
The German delegation led by Bernd Neuendorf watched the award ceremony with disappointment. “Congratulations to Brazil, it was a fair competition,” said the DFB president. “That’s the way it is in sport, you can win and lose. I think we gave it our all.” He added that the decision had no impact on the efforts in the three countries to strengthen women’s soccer. “We will continue on this path,” said Neuendorf.
The decision in favor of Brazil had already been apparent beforehand. A FIFA report, which was published on Tuesday evening last week, had rated the Brazilian bid as better overall – primarily due to the legal framework.
Prior to this, South Africa withdrew its bid in November and the USA and Mexico withdrew their bids at the end of April in order to reschedule them for 2031. The American withdrawal only appeared to be an advantage for the DFB and Co.: from a German perspective, it was feared that the North, Central and South American votes would now be united in favor of Brazil. The four federations ultimately standing for election were not entitled to vote.
The host cities on the German side would have been Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Gelsenkirchen. Instead, the World Cup will now take place in ten Brazilian cities, some of which are far apart, whose stadiums were also used for the 2014 Men’s World Cup: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.
