Vietnam benefits as Women's World Cup capacity increases

Vietnam women's team has qualified for the 2023 World Cup and the opportunity is opening up as FIFA increases the number of places in the final round.

FIFA has delighted women's football fans by approving a proposal to increase the number of teams participating in the Women's World Cup finals from 2031.

Many members benefit

Compared to the history of the men's playground which has existed since the early 30s of the last century, the Women's World Cup has only been around for more than 30 years, since its first appearance in 1991. Following the flow of history, women's football has made strong strides no less than the tournament of its male counterparts.

If the 2015 World Cup witnessed a fundamental change with the number of teams participating in the final round increasing from 16 to 24 teams, then 8 years later, the 2023 World Cup, co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand, will have 32 teams participating (the Vietnamese women's team will be participating for the first time).

The women’s football revolution doesn’t stop there. At the general assembly meeting on May 9, FIFA officially approved the proposal to expand the Women’s World Cup, allowing 48 teams to participate in the final round from 2031.

The United States is expected to be awarded the right to host the 2031 World Cup, and this country with the world's leading women's football movement will witness two historical milestones: the 1999 World Cup had the participation of 16 teams, an increase of 4 teams compared to the first two tournaments; and the 2031 World Cup increased "dramatically" with 48 participating teams.

In an official announcement about FIFA's decision, President Gianni Infantino affirmed: "This is not just about having 16 more teams participating in the World Cup, but the world of women's football is also actively taking the next steps related to the development process. Many FIFA member associations have the opportunity to benefit from the tournament to comprehensively develop their national women's football structure."

Vietnam women's team in the 0-3 loss to the US in the first round of the 2023 World Cup. Photo: AP

Setting a new standard for women's football

Certainly with more experience after co-hosting the 2026 men's World Cup with Canada and Mexico, the US won't have to worry much about women's competition facilities five years from now.

With 48 teams participating, the 2031 World Cup will be divided into 12 groups, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 - similar to the 2026 Men's World Cup - and the tournament will be extended by an additional week. It is not without initial concerns, such as the tighter schedule will affect the health of the players, or that once the tournament expands to 48 teams, there will be "one-sided" matches due to the difference in class.

However, statistics show that at the 2023 Women's World Cup, representatives from every continental confederation won at least one match and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stages, along with many other records, setting a new standard for the development of women's football on a global scale.

With the number of participating teams increased to 48, Asia will have 8 places in the finals. In the remaining regions, the number of tickets has also increased significantly, increasing the opportunities for teams that are not traditionally among the strongest.

What should Vietnamese football do?

Vietnam's men's football team once hoped to "cross the gate" when the 2026 World Cup was expanded to 48 teams, but the dream has not come true. The journey to the big sea for Vietnam's women's football team has been smoother, when they won the right to participate in the 2023 World Cup for the first time. If Asia is given up to 8 places to participate in the 2031 Women's World Cup, the women's team will have more hope. The team is currently ranked 37th in the world and 6th in Asia, based on the latest FIFA rankings in March 2025.

To be fair, if the DPRK had not unexpectedly been absent from the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, the opportunity would certainly not have come to the Vietnamese team. Not to mention, coach Mai Duc Chung's team lost all 3 matches in the final round in Australia - New Zealand despite playing with great effort.

The above reality shows that Vietnamese women's football still has a lot of work to do if it wants to regularly participate in the World Cup finals. Raising the level of the national football tournament is the most fundamental thing to do, starting with increasing the number of teams instead of only 6 participating localities as at present. Attracting sponsors and hiring foreign players to improve the quality of the tournament is also necessary in addition to calling on overseas Vietnamese and naturalized players to contribute to the team.

The Ho Chi Minh City women's team is a bright spot in every aspect, from hiring foreign players and naturalized players to competing strongly for achievements in the Asian arena.

Not only Ho Chi Minh City, "big sisters" like Hanoi and Thai Nguyen T&T are also ready to wait for the "green light" for a transformation, bringing Vietnamese women's football to the continental and world level.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/viet-nam-huong-loi-khi-world-cup-nu-tang-suat-196250510205716736.htm