Fifa, football’s global governing body, has opened up the bidding process for the 2023 edition of its Women’s World Cup national team tournament.
Interested parties have until March 15 to submit a completed expression of interest form to Fifa, which will then dispatch bidding registration and overview document four days later.
A deadline of April 16 has been set for countries to submit the completed bidding registration to Fifa. The organisation will later that month dispatch hosting documents to the member associations that have returned the bidding registration by the deadline, with the submission of the bid book, signed hosting agreement and all other hosting documents required by October 4.
The Fifa Council is expected to announce the host, or hosts, of the tournament in March 2020.
Unlike the new process for the men’s World Cup, the host of the 2023 women’s tournament will be decided by a secret ballot by Fifa. Last year, Fifa opted for a change in strategy when awarding hosting rights for the 2026 men’s World Cup to the US, Canada and Mexico, with votes made public.
In a statement to the Associated Press news agency, Fifa said: “Fifa’s statutes explicitly stipulate that the selection of venues for the final competitions of all tournaments rests with the Fifa Council with the exception of the Fifa World Cup, where their power lies with the Congress.”
Australia and Japan have already reaffirmed their intention to bid for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with Colombia and South Africa having also expressed an interest in hosting.
Fifa’s chief women’s football officer, Sarai Bareman, said: “Interest in women’s football continues to grow and following this summer’s Fifa Women’s World Cup in France, it is certain to reach an all-time high.
“Fifa believes that women’s football still has even more potential for growth and we look forward to receiving hosting submissions for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023, to see how potential host countries will aim to promote the ultimate competition in women’s football, and create a sustainable legacy that will inspire upcoming generations of young girls and women to get involved in the game.”
The Women’s World Cup is held every four years, with the 2019 event to take place this summer in France. The 2015 tournament was held in Canada, with the US beating Japan 5-2 in the final.
