© AFP
FIFA has opened the bidding process for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ as well as seven more competitions, which are the FIFA Club World Cups from 2015 to 2018, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2017, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 and the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018. The 209 member associations have been invited to submit their interest.
FIFA Women’s World Cups open for bidding
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018
The popularity of women’s football has grown rapidly in recent years, with more women participating in the game worldwide as well as steadily-rising spectator numbers for women’s competitions.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ has grown significantly in stature and significance over the last few editions. Now with 24 teams, it enjoys the second-biggest profile of all FIFA’s flagship events.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is the second most important women’s FIFA event. The so-called “springboard for the stars” tournament serves as a staging post towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, not only for players but also for the hosts. In terms of popularity, the 2010 edition in Germany holds the attendance record of 395,295 spectators and achieved an average global in-home audience per live match of 2.8 million.
In principle, FIFA would prefer the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ (24 teams) and the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018 (16 teams) to be hosted and organised by the same member association.
However, if circumstances require, FIFA reserves the right to award the hosting of the events separately.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018
The development of football for girls and women remains one of FIFA’s top priorities. This is the “youngest” of FIFA’s competitions. A major milestone was reached in 2008 when the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup was held in New Zealand, marking the first time men and women had the same youth tournament structure in football. The creation of this event (with 16 teams) has encouraged member associations to further develop women’s football at youth level and to set up teams in even younger age groups. In addition, this tournament has enjoyed support from different sectors of society in its host countries.
The bidding timeline for these women’s competitions requires the member associations that wish to host these events to submit a declaration of interest by 15 April 2014. The deadline for delivery of the hosting agreement together with all the signed bidding documents is 31 October 2014, with the final decision on the hosts currently scheduled to take place at the first FIFA Executive Committee meeting in 2015.
FIFA Club World Cups 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 open for bidding
After very successful years in the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Morocco – which will host the 2014 edition as well – FIFA is pleased to announce the opening of the bid processes for the 2015-2016 as well as the 2017-2018 editions, i.e. two hosts, each hosting two years.
The plan is to continue organising the seven-team competition in the month of December. FIFA’s only club competition has proven to be very successful over the years, becoming a landmark in the football calendar. The list of winners – FC Bayern München, Corinthians, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, AC Milan, Internazionale Milano, Internacional Porto Alegre, São Paulo FC – illustrates the high level of competitiveness of the tournament.
Member associations that are interested in hosting the event are invited to submit a declaration of interest by 30 March 2014. The complete set of bidding documents has to be provided by 25 August 2014 and the Executive Committee will select the host in September 2014.
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup open for bidding
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is held every two years and 2017 will mark the ninth edition. Sixteen teams will participate in the final competition and one stadium will be required. The duration of the competition is approximately ten to 12 days. The location of the venue should reflect the sun, sea and sand of the Copacabana beach, the birthplace of beach soccer.
The timeline requires member associations to declare their interest in hosting this competition by 15 April 2014 and they will have to submit their definitive bids including all signed bidding and hosting documents by 1 October 2014. The host will be appointed by the Executive Committee at its meeting in December 2014.
FIFA.com Media Release
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