The football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have officially launched their ambitious joint bid to host the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup. This landmark proposal, submitted on Friday, 28th November 2025, aims to bring the world's biggest football tournament to the UK for the first time since the men's event in 1966.
Should the bid prove successful, it would become the largest single-sport event ever staged in the United Kingdom. The scale is monumental, with plans for 4.5 million tickets to be made available for a global television audience projected to reach a staggering 3.5 billion people.
A Tournament for the Whole UK
The bid outlines a truly national event, with matches spread across 16 host cities in all four home nations. A total of 22 stadiums have been proposed, ensuring the tournament reaches fans from Belfast to Brighton.
The proposed venue list includes 16 stadiums in England, three in Wales, two in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland. This widespread approach means an estimated 63 million people would live within a two-hour journey of a host venue, making it potentially the most accessible World Cup in history.
Stadiums and Host Cities
The bid details a wide array of iconic and community-focused stadiums. The proposed host cities and their venues are:
- Belfast - The Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park
- Birmingham - The Sports Quarter Stadium and Villa Park
- Brighton & Hove - The American Express Stadium
- Bristol - Ashton Gate
- Cardiff - Cardiff City Stadium and Principality Stadium
- Edinburgh - Easter Road
- Glasgow - Hampden Park
- Leeds - Elland Road
- Liverpool - The Hill Dickinson Stadium
- London - Chelsea FC Stadium, Emirates Stadium, Selhurst Park, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium connected by EE
- Manchester - Etihad Stadium
- Trafford - Old Trafford
- Newcastle - St James' Park
- Nottingham - The City Ground
- Sunderland - Stadium of Light
- Wrexham - STōK Racecourse
It is important to note that this initial list may evolve, with some stadiums potentially being replaced by new constructions completed before the 2035 tournament.
Turbocharging the Women's Game
The chief executives of the four football associations released a powerful joint statement, expressing immense pride in the growth of women's and girls' football in recent years. They firmly believe that hosting the Women's World Cup has the power to "turbo charge the women's and girls' game both in the UK and globally."
The proposed tournament would be a vast undertaking, featuring 104 matches contested by 48 teams over 39 days. The infrastructure plan is equally comprehensive, including 48 team base camps, 82 venue-specific training sites, and 32 official FIFA Fan Festival sites to engage supporters.
In a significant boost for the bid, FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed back in April that the home nations had submitted the only valid bid for the 2035 tournament at that time. This positions the UK and Ireland as the frontrunner, setting the stage for a potentially transformative decade for football.
