FIFA approves 48-team women's World Cup from 2031 edition

The Manila Times

FIFA approves 48-team women's World Cup from 2031 edition  The women's World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams from the 2031 edition onwards after world soccer's governing body FIFA said its Council approved the proposal at a virtual meeting on May 9, 2025. The 48-team World Cup will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 - the same as the expanded men's World Cup in 2026 - and extending the tournament by one week. The 2027 women's World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, will have 32 teams. The 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand was the first to have 32 teams, up from 24 in the 2019 tournament hosted by France.  FIFA / REUTERS  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net  Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  Soundcloud: https://tmt.ph/soundcloud   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews #fifawomensworldcup #fifa

Transcript

00:00Well, it's a very important day today for women's football.

00:04The FIFA Council, after having thoroughly analyzed the question,

00:09decided today to increase the number of participating teams,

00:13of participating countries, in the FIFA Women's World Cup to 48.

00:19As of the edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2031,

00:24there will be not any more 32 teams participating, but 48 countries from all over the world.

00:34And this is a very, very important message on what FIFA is doing for the development of the women's game,

00:43not just in a few countries, but literally all over the world.

00:48Important decision, 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup with 48 teams.

00:56Everyone, every girl, every woman, in every corner of the world can hope,

01:04inspire to participate in the FIFA Women's World Cup.

01:08Another important decision of the FIFA Council today, again related to women's football,

01:17is the creation, together, of an Afghan refugee women's team.

01:26We know about the situation in Afghanistan.

01:33We are engaging, of course, on a diplomatic way with Afghanistan as well.

01:40And in the meantime, we want to give the opportunity to all these Afghan women and girls living around the world

01:48to play football.

01:51And for this reason, we decided to set up a team, a refugees team,

01:57to play some games in a FIFA environment, some friendly games, to train together

02:04and to play football.

02:06An important message, again, for women, not just in Afghanistan, but all over the world,

02:13that, you know, football is for everyone.

02:16Today, the FIFA Council has agreed to amend, unanimously agreed, to amend the FIFA disciplinary rules

02:25by strengthening these rules, by giving more tools and opportunities to FIFA,

02:31to the member associations to fight racism.

02:34Stronger sanctions, of course, not just fines and matches behind closed doors,

02:39but also forfeited matches in case a match has to be abandoned for a racist incident.

02:49We have to be very serious about that topic.

03:24.

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