Neighbouring football nations join their efforts for 2027 Women’s World Cup bid

The three nations, represented by Peter Bossaert (CEO RBFA), Heike Ullrich (deputy general-secretary DFB) and Gijs de Jong (general-secretary KNVB), have a clear and common goal: “Women's football is known worldwide for its strong sense of community. All parties involved have an eye on the bigger picture and that is taking the sport to the next level, both on and off the pitch. The fact that we, as rivals and good neighbours, can manage this project together is in line with this idea. Although the development of women's football in our individual countries is in different stages, we share the ambition to give the sport a huge boost, both nationally and internationally. We strongly believe that teamwork can make the difference and increase our chances to host this tournament.” 

Last week, three ex-internationals, Silvia Neid (Germany), Femke Maes (Belgium), and Sarina Wiegman (The Netherlands), were the first to be informed about the ambitious plan.

The three traditional football rivals have already expressed their ambitions to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup to FIFA, responsible for organising the World Cup, and UEFA. The three federations intend to make further arrangements and draw up a covenant before the end of the year. After this, the talks with the (national) authorities and potential host cities and training venues will start. It is still unclear when the actual bid needs to be submitted and when FIFA will announce the winner of the hosting rights. ​ 

Peter Bossaert, CEO of the RBFA, is excited about this new project: “We wish to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup – the largest sporting event for women in the world. We have been able to experience, through the UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 in The Netherlands and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France – what this event can lead to: great matches, full stadiums, massive TV audiences, visitors from around the world. The organisation of the World Cup would be a boost for our country and for the further development of women’s football in Belgium, which is high on priority list. We will continue the preparation of our bid with The Netherlands and Germany and start discussions with our governments, who are supporting this initiative. It will be a challenging project, but we are confident about our chances.” 

The Royal Netherlands Football Association already announced in 2018 its desire to bring the FIFA Women's World Cup to The Netherlands in 2027, which resulted in broad parliamentary support. Germany and Belgium can also count on extensive political support, both on the federal and regional level.

Initiator KNVB hosted the UEFA Women's EURO in 2017, while Germany organised this event twice, in 1989 and 2001. The Germans were also responsible for organising the FIFA Women's World Cup of 2011. Winning the 2027 bid would make it Belgium's first time to host a major women's tournament.

In June this year, Australia and New Zealand won the bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
​​
​Contact
​Pierre Cornez (press officer of the RBFA)
​[email protected]
​+32 496 35 15 56