After Brazil was selected to host the 2027 edition of the Women’s World Cup during a FIFA congress on Friday that included a discussion over the conflict in Gaza, the tournament will now take place in South America for the first time.
To bring women’s football to new regions, FIFA members chose Brazil despite a bid from Europe following the success of Australia and New Zealand in the previous year.
Samba football’s home country will host the 10th Women’s World Cup, as decided by delegates gathered in Bangkok by a vote of 119 to 78, defeating a combined proposal from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The Brazilian bid team rejoiced with the announcement.
Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, declared it a “victory for Latin American football and women’s football in Latin America.”.
In FIFA’s evaluation report, Brazil—home of women’s football legend Marta—scored higher than its European opponent.
The “tremendous impact on women’s football in the region” that South America’s hosting of the Women’s World Cup would have was underlined by FIFA inspectors.
Brazil has proposed to host the 2014 men’s World Cup in ten venues, including Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Maracana, which will host the opening and final matches.
However, there is still work to be done, especially at Manaus’s Amazonia stadium, which has been virtually empty for ten years.
Brazil’s women have not taken the title or advanced past the group stage of the 2023 World Cup, in contrast to their male counterparts, who have won five of these competitions.
The competition set records the year before, bringing in $570 million in commercial income.
On the field, it dispelled expectations that expanding from 24 to 32 teams would lessen the spectacle, drawing more than 1.4 million spectators to see several surprises.
The uneven results from past World Cups were eliminated, indicating an improvement in women’s football standards.
The United States and Germany, who together had won six of the previous eight championships, were eliminated early, while seven teams won their first World Cup.
The sole negative aspect was the aftermath of the previous year’s Sydney final, where Spain defeated England 1-0.
The Chief of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, who is currently being prosecuted for sexual assault, caused uproar when he forced a kiss on midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the medal ceremony.
The Gaza dispute:
To move past the corruption and dubious business practices that plagued it in the past, the 74th FIFA Congress, which was held in Thailand for the first time, reached its decision through an open vote for the first time.
When Mexico and the United States abandoned their combined candidacy last month and decided to concentrate on attempting to secure the right to host the 2031 edition, delegates had an easier decision to make.
The massive financial gap between men’s and women’s football will be the main topic of discussion as the Brazil event draws near.
Despite having a record $110 million in prize money, the 2023 Women’s World Cup fell well short of the $440 million that would have been awarded to teams at the men’s tournament in Qatar in 2022.
The Palestinian FA (PFA) has called on Congress to expel Israel from the international organization and prohibit Israeli teams from participating in FIFA competitions.
The Israeli FA had infringed FIFA regulations, according to PFA head Jibril Rajoub, who also stated that FIFA “cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations or the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Insisting that the IFA had not infringed any FIFA rules, his Israeli colleague Shino Moshe Zuares dismissed the call as “cynical, political, and hostile.”
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, stated that the organization will consider outside legal counsel before determining what, if any, action to take by July 20.
Notable modifications:
Additionally, the congress adopted modifications to FIFA’s statutes that eliminated the regulation and fixed the organization’s Zurich headquarters, which has served as its home since 1932.
The regulation now states that the headquarters’ site will be “determined by a decision passed by the congress,” allowing the relocation from the Swiss city.
In addition, delegates decided to increase the number of committees from seven to 35, undoing the actions made in 2016 to purge FIFA following a flurry of corruption allegations.
The new committee’s purview encompasses women’s football, combating racism, and eSports; nevertheless, detractors argue that they run the risk of reinstating the kind of patronage system that the changes were intended to do away with.
Along with the concept of a “legends” World Cup, Infantino also suggested a World Cup or festival for under-15 players.
AFP
