Maybe 2027 was too soon.
Put a pin in that…
U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) have withdrawn from the 2027 World Cup bidding process on Monday, only weeks before the public vote scheduled on May 17 at the FIFA Congress in Thailand. Instead, the two North American federations will bid on the 2031 edition of the tournament.
A statement released by U.S. Soccer said that by withdrawing the 2027 bid and focusing on 2031, it will allow the federations to fully take advantage of what they learn from the 2026 men’s edition and provide greater support for host cities — many of which could host both men’s and women’s matches.
U.S. Soccer also said that by pushing back the bid, it could more fully focus on ensuring that a Women’s World Cup hosted by the two federations would have equal investment to the men’s. With the proposed timeline of a jointly hosted 2026 men’s tournament amongst the U.S., Mexico and Canada, followed by the proposed women’s edition, then the 2028 Olympics, as well as the U.S.’s other hosting obligations for other smaller tournaments, 2027 appears to have proved too much for the timeline.
On the 2031 front, the U.S. and Mexico could face some strong competition in that bidding process as well. While bids won’t be due for a while, Football Association chairwoman Debbie Hewitt previously said that England is considering launching a bid for 2031.
This leaves only two remaining bids for the voters to choose from: one from Brazil, and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. While the European joint bid may be a strong bid, Brazil is the heavy favorite to host at this point. The country hosted a men’s World Cup relatively recently in 2014, and considering the growing investment in South America, it may prove to be a smart long-term play for FIFA to use the boost of a major tournament to firmly cement the women’s game in the region.
See here for the background, and here for that US Soccer statement. Would have been awesome to have two World Cups in a row here, especially if at least some of the matches were literally here in Houston, but I can understand the desire to take a little more time. I’ll be ready for it either way.