Women’s football
DFB clearly fails in its World Cup bid – new attempt open
The Women’s World Cup will take place in Brazil in 2027. photo
© Abbie Parr/AP/dpa
The German Football Association and its competitors are losing by a wide margin in the awarding of the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The tournament goes to Brazil. Another explosive topic is postponed.
Smiling, Gianni Infantino pulled the golden piece of paper with the inscription “Brazil” out of the envelope. DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and his competitors for the World Cup Women 2027 watched, disappointed and motionless, the first loud cheers of the successful competition on the sidelines in front of the stage of the Bangkok congress hall. Instead of in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, the World Cup will take place in Brazil in just over three years.
The Europeans’ joint application failed by a clear margin when it was awarded by the global association’s membership collection with 78:119 of the valid votes. After the men’s home European Championship this summer, there won’t be another big football festival in Germany anytime soon. The German Football Association last hosted a Women’s World Cup in 2011.
“Congratulations to Brazil, that was a fair competition,” said DFB President Neuendorf. “That’s how it is in sport, you can win and lose. I think we gave it our all.” The decision has no impact on efforts in the three countries to strengthen women’s football. “We will continue on this path,” said Neuendorf.
The decision about another German attempt remains open
The concept of short distances and a sustainable tournament did not catch on with the clear majority of FIFA member associations. Neuendorf left it open whether there should be a new attempt for the 2031 World Cup. “We will assess and evaluate this calmly,” said the DFB boss of the German Press Agency. “We will certainly sit down again and talk to UEFA. These are not things that should be decided or announced ad hoc, but we will see how we deal with the result.” The competition would be fierce: The USA and Mexico had withdrawn their application before Congress and announced a new attempt for 2031.
The head of the Brazilian association, Ednaldo Rodrigues, said he was “euphoric” after the award: “I feel a lot of emotions, we knew it would be difficult. But we knew that united we would be successful.” Infantino said – once again – his phrase “the best World Cup of all time”.
First Women’s World Cup in South America
For the first time in the history of world football, a women’s World Cup is taking place in South America. The final will take place in the legendary Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where the German men’s national team became world champions in 2014. In their application, the Brazilians repeatedly emphasized their experience with major tournaments. If the European trio had prevailed, there would have been games played across countries in up to 13 cities in three years. The German venues would have been Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Cologne.
DFB President Neuendorf and the German delegation had tried to change the mood in Bangkok in the past few days. The Brazilian bid was favored internationally, also because it was rated slightly better in the FIFA evaluation report. There are “a number of legal risks” in the European application, the report said. The smaller stadiums also had a negative impact. Like Neuendorf, DFB sports director Nia Künzer also campaigned for votes at the last minute alongside Dutch icon Clarence Seedorf on the congress stage – in vain.
No vote on Israel
Even before the World Cup was awarded, there was a politically explosive issue on the agenda – but there was no vote on excluding Israel. The world association did not allow a corresponding request from the Palestinian association for a vote from the 211 member associations. This was preceded by emotional contributions from both sides on the Gaza war.
Infantino announced that independent legal advisors would prepare an opinion and that the FIFA Council would meet in an extraordinary meeting of the FIFA Council before July 20th. “We discussed in the Council that it might be a good procedure to discuss the issue again in the Council,” said Neuendorf, who himself is a member of FIFA’s top committee. “That’s why I’m happy with the result.”