I bet you were probably expecting a post about the baseball season that finally appears as if it's going to happen. Maybe something about the Olympics in honor of Olympic Day yesterday and what was supposed to be the start of the U.S. Olympic Trials coming up this weekend. Maybe even my reaction to the Hockey Hall of Fame announcement. Well, wrong, wrong, and wrong again!
Instead I'm going to talk about a pretty major event that takes place in 2023, yet still doesn't have a host yet! That'll all change tomorrow, as Australia/New Zealand is set to be awarded the next Women's World Cup.
Frankly, the fact that the next Women's World Cup is three years away and the host is only just now being named is a prime example of what the women's players are talking about in their push for equality. FIFA awarded both the 2018 and 2022 Men's World Cups at the same time, and they announced that the 2026 edition would be in North America before the 2018 World Cup even started. Yet, when the Women's World Cup ended last year, they still had no idea where the next one was going to be. What a joke!
Then they delayed the vote even longer by expanding the tournament from 24 to 32 teams, which changed the entire bidding process. I'm not saying Women's World Cup expansion was the wrong thing to do, but it seemed quick and impulsive. Not to mention the bind they were putting potential bidders in by adding eight teams, which means more games and more cities/stadiums that need to be involved.
Fortunately, that didn't deter the two most likely bidders, who both have strong women's teams and would be more than capable hosts--Japan and Australia. While it seemed obvious that Australia was going to be the leading candidate even before last year's Women's World Cup, when I was saying over and over again: "Why don't they just give it to Australia already?" Japan, however, has not only won a Women's World Cup, they've been a popular host for worldwide events in recent years, including last year's Rugby World Cup and next year's Olympics. The Women's World Cup would've completed the trifecta.
Brazil also submitted a bid, which could've made for a very interesting three-country race. Brazil would've, assumingly, used many of the same stadiums from 2014. And, when you consider Brazil is arguably the best women's national team to have never won the World Cup, that would've added another layer. (Also, imagine a Brazil-USA final at a sold out Maracana! It would be amazing!)
But Brazil has been hit hard by the pandemic, resulting in their bid being withdrawn. Japan's was too, also for economic reasons, which is beyond understandable when you consider how much postponing the Olympics is costing them. So, that leaves it as a two-horse race between Australia/New Zealand and Colombia. It's not even close when you compare the two bids. And I don't expect the vote to be close either.
Australia has plenty of large stadiums in major cities. Then you throw New Zealand's big stadiums in big cities on top of that?! Plus, they've got plenty of big-event experience having co-hosted the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 and each hosting it individually, as well. Australia has obviously hosted a ton of Olympics/Commonwealth Games, too, and Brisbane is the odds-on favorite for 2032.
Colombia has none of that. Their national stadium in Bogota, which would host both the opening game and final, doesn't even meet FIFA's minimum size requirements. And that's their largest stadium! (By contrast, Australia will hold the final at Sydney's Olympic Stadium, which seats 85,000.)
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Australia uses this as a test-run for a Men's World Cup bid. After all, everything I've said about why they're an attractive bid for the Women's World Cup is also true on the men's side. The next time Asia's eligible to bid for the Men's World Cup is for the 2034 tournament, and expect a strong Aussie bid for either that one or 2038 (likely 2038 since they're putting on the full court press for Brisbane 2032).
Even though Australia's Soccer Federation might have sights on something bigger, they'll present a high-quality Women's World Cup. Just like the U.S. in 2026, Australia could do it without New Zealand's involvement. But the fact that their neighbor is involved makes the bid that much stronger. And, let's not forget the historical aspect of it, too. It'll be the first co-hosted Women's World Cup. Beyond that, though, since Australia is part of the Asian federation in soccer and New Zealand is still in the Oceania federation, this'll be the first World Cup (men or women) hosted by two different confederations.
As for the logistics, I'm curious to see when they actually choose to schedule it. FIFA's preferred July-August timeframe is right smack in the middle of winter down there. But if they do it in May-June, it'd be mid-fall. That's probably preferable to pushing it later in the year. Perhaps you start it the weekend after the Champions League Final (which should be back on its normal schedule by then).
Anyway, the opening game will be in Auckland, one of the five cities in New Zealand that will host. The other seven host cities will be in Australia, with two stadiums in Sydney. Oddly, the capital city of Canberra and Gold Coast, which just built a brand new stadium to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, weren't chosen. Launceston in Tasmania was, which isn't that big of a deal since it's not too bad of a flight. Perth, however, is the only city in Western Australia. It's on the complete opposite side of the country! It's the fourth-largest city in Australia, so I get it, but it's definitely going to be the Manaus of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Each country will host four groups, so teams won't have to go back-and-forth, which is good. (The setup is similar the the 2002 Men's World Cup that was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.) Five knockout games in New Zealand, with the rest in Australia.
And, with the success of the Matildas in recent years, it's not hard to envision them making a deep run in the first World Cup Down Under. They likely won't enter the tournament with the co-favorite status that France had last summer. But matching, or even bettering, France and Canada's quarterfinal showings as hosts of the last two Women's World Cups isn't a stretch by any means. (I'm not counting New Zealand out either, even though Australia has the stronger squad.)
If (or, should I say, when) it goes well, expect there to be another. As for the 2027 Women's World Cup, FIFA better get their acts together. Because they owe it to every women's national team to know where the next World Cup is before the 2023 edition ends. And, depending on how quickly Brazil can recover from the pandemic, they're looking pretty good to host that one.
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