The United States may not be bidding alone for the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
Earlier this month, a FIFA declaration all but handed hosting rights of the tournament to Concacaf, with U.S. Soccer quickly announcing its bid for the tournament.
The U.S. and Mexico initially launched a joint bid for the 2027 tournament, but eventually dropped their pursuit as they chose to focus entirely on co-hosting the men’s World Cup in 2026 alongside Canada.
Mexico wasn’t included in U.S. Soccer’s announcement this month of its bid for the 2031 tournament, raising questions as to whether the United States was set to go it alone.
But according to Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, the eventual bid could include several countries in addition to the United States.
“I would like to see perhaps a potential Caribbean [host], a potential Central America [host],” “So, over and above just a North American World Cup.
“Obviously, there’s some realities with that, because not every country has the infrastructure to host a Women’s World Cup,” he added. “But, I think we’re open minded on that.
“We all know the U.S. is a very strong candidate, even if they went on their own. But I think those discussions are being had by U.S. Soccer, by Mexico, and others as well. And Concacaf is at that table. And obviously, whatever we decide, we’re gonna support [the bid] 100%. And hopefully we can win it.”
That Concacaf will win the bid is hardly in question. FIFA decided this month to restrict bids for the 2031 event to just Concacaf or Africa. That cleared away almost every possible challenger, with FIFA also declaring that the 2035 edition could only be hosted by a European or African country.
FIFA will select hosts for both tournaments at its congress next year.
Should the U.S. host the 2031 Women’s World Cup, it would be the country’s third time staging the event. The first was the record-setting 1999 tournament, while the 2003 World Cup was moved to the U.S. at the last minute due to a SARS outbreak in host country China.