World football’s governing body Fifa has reported record levels of interest in bidding to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Following Friday’s deadline to respond to an invitation sent out for expressions of interest in submitting a bid, Fifa today (Tuesday) said it has received a total of nine proposals from member associations (MAs).
These include a joint bid from South and North Korea, along with proposals from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. All interested MAs have been sent the respective overview and bidding registration documents, and will have until April 16 to submit their bidding registration.
On Friday, Fifa agreed to open up the vote for hosting rights to the 2023 Women’s World Cup following criticism for failing to bring the competition in line with changes to the bidding process for the men’s event.
The Argentinian Football Association’s (AFA’s) bid represents its latest effort to boost the women’s game. On Saturday, the AFA announced that its domestic women’s league, Liga Profesional de Fútbol Femenino, will be granted professional status.
Under the move, the AFA has said that each of the top tier’s 16 clubs must now have at least eight professional contracts with their players. Up to now, women’s football has largely held amateur status in Argentina.
Canada hosted the most recent edition of the Women’s World Cup, in 2015, while France will stage this year’s edition from June 7 to July 7.
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