The Women's World Cup will feature 48 teams starting with the 2031 finals.

(NLĐO) – FIFA has approved a proposal to expand the Women's World Cup to 48 teams starting in 2031, when the finals are expected to be held in the United States.

If everything goes smoothly according to the schedule approved by FIFA, the Women's World Cup will take a huge leap forward, rivaling the men's competition. In fact, women 's football could even "develop" faster than the men's World Cup in terms of its scale and scope.

While the 2019 Women's World Cup in France featured only 24 teams, four years later, the tournament held in Australia and New Zealand boasted 32 teams (including the Vietnamese women's team, who qualified for the first time).

Spain wins the 2023 Women's World Cup.

The 2027 World Cup in Brazil will still feature 32 teams, but four years later, the 2031 World Cup, tentatively hosted by the United States, will expand to 48 teams. With the increased number of teams, the organization and scale of the tournament will also change significantly. According to FIFA, the 2031 World Cup will adopt a 12-group format, 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 a week.

At its online General Assembly meeting on May 9th, FIFA officially approved the proposal to expand the Women's World Cup starting in 2031. "This is not just about having 16 more teams participating in the World Cup finals, but women's football is also actively taking the next steps related to its overall development. Many FIFA member associations have the opportunity to benefit from the tournament to comprehensively develop their national women's football structures," FIFA President Gianni Infantino affirmed in an official statement.

The US players and the 2019 Women's World Cup trophy.

The United States is expected to be awarded the right to host the 2031 Women's World Cup as the sole host nation, marking the third time the country has hosted the top-tier women's soccer tournament after previous appearances in 1999 and 2003.

The right to host the Women's World Cup in 2031 and 2035 has yet to be approved, with the United States being the leading candidate for the 2031 tournament and Great Britain being the sole bidder for the 2035 tournament. Concerns are emerging that expanding to 48 teams could lead to one-sided matches due to the disparity in skill levels. However, as President Gianni Infantino noted, the performances of the teams at the 2023 World Cup showed that the gap between the groups of teams is narrowing significantly.

Sweden reached the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup thanks to the excellent performance of goalkeeper Zerica Musovic (1)

"The 2023 Women's World Cup, the first tournament where teams from every confederation won at least one match and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stage, along with many other records, set a new standard for global competitiveness. The decision to expand the World Cup ensures the continued development of women's football globally," the FIFA head added.

Japan won the 2011 World Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Netflix will exclusively broadcast the Women's World Cup in the US.

FIFA and Netflix have reached an agreement to broadcast the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups in the United States, providing live viewing of all matches in both tournaments in English and Spanish. The agreement also includes live streaming in Puerto Rico on the multilingual platform.

In addition to broadcasting the tournament, Netflix will also produce a series of documentaries aimed at conveying the appeal of women's football to viewers ahead of both finals, further enhancing the World Cup's appeal and demonstrating a strong commitment to the development of women's football.

The 2023 World Cup final between England and Spain attracted a record number of viewers, with over 12 million people watching on BBC One in the United Kingdom alone.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/world-cup-nu-se-co-48-doi-ke-tu-vong-chung-ket-2031-tang-co-hoi-cho-viet-nam-19625051008485112.htm