FIFA Council collectively affirms extended 32-team field for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

The FIFA Council has collectively consented to a proposition to extend the number of teams partaking in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ from 24 to 32, with impact as of the next edition of the tournament in 2023.

Since the offering procedure for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is as of now in progress − with the nine bidders at first expected to submit their offer books by 4 October 2019 – the FIFA Council extraordinarily settled on this decision remotely, and not at one of its meetings, the next of which is scheduled for 23-24 October in Shanghai.

Having been given a background document on the expansion, FIFA’s decision-making body voted for embracing the 32-team format and, as a result, updating the hosting necessities and the timetable of the offering procedure for 2023. The key achievements of this updated timeline are:

August 2019: round to be conveyed with a brief timeframe window for:

• current offering member associations to reconfirm their interest in offering
• some other qualified member associations to express their interest in offering

December 2019: deadline for offer submissions

April 2020: expected publication of Bid Evaluation Report

May 2020: expected appointment of a host(s)

The FIFA organization will likewise start a discussion procedure with the confederations so as to build up a proposition for the opening allocation, which will at that point require endorsement by the FIFA Council.

“The astounding success of this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in France made it very clear that this is the time to keep the momentum going and take concrete steps to foster the growth of women’s football. I am glad to see this proposal – the first of several − becoming a reality,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“The expansion reaches far beyond the eight additional participating teams; it means that, from now on, dozens of more member associations will organize their women’s football program knowing they have a realistic chance of qualifying. The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the most powerful trigger for the professionalization of the women’s game, but it comes but once every four years and is only the top of a much greater pyramid.

“In the meantime, we all have a duty to do the groundwork and strengthen women’s football development infrastructure across all confederations.”