Bid Announcement and Initial Outreach

On Friday, U.S. Soccer confirmed the beginning of its formal solicitation process for cities interested in participating in the bid for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Following FIFA’s announcement in April that U.S. Soccer is the only national federation seeking to host the event, plans have emerged to hold the competition primarily in the United States, in partnership with Mexico and other nations within the Concacaf region.

Potential Host Cities

The federation has reached out directly to representatives from the 11 cities selected as hosts for the upcoming 2026 men’s World Cup, which include:

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Dallas
• Houston
• Kansas City
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York/New Jersey
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco Bay Area
• Seattle

Additionally, several other cities have been contacted, such as:

• Baltimore
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Washington D.C.
• Denver
• Detroit
• Las Vegas
• Minneapolis
• Nashville
• New Orleans
• Orlando
• Phoenix
• San Diego
• St. Louis
• Tampa

Next Steps and Information Session

U.S. Soccer plans to host a working session in Atlanta for interested cities in July of this year. This event will precede a September deadline for cities to submit the necessary information to be considered as host venues.

Moreover, cities that may serve as sites for a referee base camp or an international broadcast center will also need to provide additional details during this bid process.

Timeline for the Bid Submission

The formal bid is set to be submitted to FIFA in the fourth quarter of 2025. The awarding of the event is anticipated to occur at the FIFA Congress on April 30, 2024, in Vancouver, barring any unforeseen complications.

The bid is expected to propose between 15 to 20 cities, yet it remains uncertain how many of those will ultimately be selected and how many will be located within the United States.

Feedback and Host City Terms

Notably, the initial communications did not outline FIFA’s formal terms for host cities, a factor of considerable interest given the challenges encountered by World Cup host cities in the lead-up to the 2026 event. Cities have proactively shared their insights and desired changes regarding the FIFA relationship for the 2031 tournament. Detailed terms from FIFA are expected to be provided to these cities ahead of U.S. Soccer’s July information session.