Breaking New Ground (BNG2027) delivers bid book to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™

Having previously announced the launch of its joint bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™, the Belgian (RBFA), Dutch (KNVB) and German (DFB) football federations have today delivered the BNG bid book to FIFA. The book sets out and covers all aspects of the bid offering a detailed overview of the elements that will be designed to host the competition. BNG believes it has developed a bid that is encompassing, covering not just the essential areas of the competition itself but crucially outlining the impact this will have in developing the women’s game globally in the years ahead.

Following months of detailed planning and hard work, BNG2027 is delivering a bid book of real intent and purpose. The bid aims at delivering a fan-focused, commercially attractive, and sustainable tournament allowing participating teams and fans to enjoy a setting of unparalleled quality. We are also confident that this will lead to growing interest and participation in women's football worldwide. The focus of the world in the summer of 2027 will be on women's football in a manner not seen before.

"Women's football is developing at great speed. Girls are taking up the game in huge numbers alongside growing and deepening fan interest. Our focus at BNG2027 is to deliver a bid that will build on this momentum and accelerate and deepen further engagement. We believe that our bid encompasses all the elements to achieve just that and support FIFA in its mission to shape an exciting future for the women’s game globally. Our motto which spells out the first letter of each of our three nations reflects the ambition we have set ourselves. Breaking New Ground seeks to go that extra mile to deliver a World Cup of the highest quality taking the game to its next level as it looks to fulfill its true potential."

– Pascale Van Damme (President RBFA), Just Spee (President KNVB), Bernd Neuendorf (President DFB) 

Securing a sustainable and compact tournament ​

The hosting candidate cities are known. They include Anderlecht (Brussels), Charleroi, Genk, Ghent, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Heerenveen, Enschede, Rotterdam, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Cologne. All cities with deep rooted football heritage seeking to open their stadium doors to fans from around the world. The 13 stadiums and cities are experienced in hosting international matches and/or major events and have shown their strong enthusiasm and engagement to ensure the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™’s success. A final selection of venues will be made by FIFA.

The selection of these cities came through careful and deliberate consideration as we aim to host the most sustainable World Cup ever by keeping distances between stadiums as limited as possible. The maximum distance between stadiums will be limited to 300 kilometers, allowing teams and supporters to minimize travel. Affordable and readily available forms of high-quality public transport will ensure fans travel easily between cities in a manner which is ecofriendly.

FIFA will pick from one of two historical Brussels locations (Brussels Expo and Tour & Taxis), as the hosting venues for the draw.

Ensuring a unique fan experience

The close proximity of the host cities will make it easier and cheaper for supporters to attend multiple matches and soak up the unique and festive atmosphere of a FIFA World Cup™. But our focus goes beyond the in-stadium experience. FIFA fan festival sites will be set up across our three countries in host cities to ensure fans can come together in iconic locations to follow games on large purpose-built screens. Furthermore, we will introduce the innovative “United World Cup Walks” concept encouraging fans to walk together from festival sites to the stadium as we seek to build a unique atmosphere and build excitement and a sense of fun and togetherness ahead of matches.

Safety and security will be at the fore front of our efforts to ensure an unforgettable experience for all visiting fans. ​

Delivering a commercially successful World Cup

BNG2027 seeks to deliver the most commercially successful FIFA Women's World Cup™ ever. The aim is to drive revenue growth of 50% compared to the 2023 World Cup. This can be achieved through the delivery of significant value around the sale of global media rights, saving costs through the compactness of the tournament, maximizing revenues from the European sponsorship market alongside strong forecasts around ticketing and hospitality income. The revenue generated will support FIFA efforts in distributing funds to its Member Associations across the world to help these develop the women’s game domestically.

Growing women's football globally

BNG2027 will not only seek to deliver the most successful FIFA Women’s World Cup™ ever. It will act as a catalyst to further develop women's football worldwide leading to enhanced emancipation, participation and commercialization. BNG2027 has a clear plan to deliver on these three objectives in the coming years – both in our three countries and globally. ​

To this effect, several programmes are being rolled out, including:

"In summary our bid book sets out our wish to welcome the world to the biggest football festival in the history of women's sport in the summer of 2027. We hope that FIFA shares our enthusiasm and sees the merit and quality in our bid. We invite our fellow football federations from around the world to join us and believe in our story and share our dream in hosting a World Cup that makes women's football truly global."

 – Manu Leroy (CEO a.i. RBFA),Gijs de Jong (General Secretary KNVB), Heike Ullrich (General Secretary DFB)