Potential host cities talk 2031 Women’s World Cup after U.S. Soccer initiates selection process

The next five years could be an extraordinary era for soccer fans in the United States — if all goes to plan.

The much-hyped, still-unproven, revamped and expanded FIFA Club World Cup kicks off on Saturday and the men’s World Cup is set to land here in summer 2026, when the U.S. co-hosts the tournament with Canada and Mexico. However, some organizers are already looking to the 2031 Women’s World Cup.

U.S. Soccer shared bid information for that tournament at the end of May with 29 potential host cities across the nation, according to multiple people familiar with the planning. “We’ve received the documents from U.S. Soccer,” Meg Kane, the executive director of the Philadelphia World Cup Host Committee, said during this week’s 2026 men’s World Cup host committee event in New York. “There’s incredible enthusiasm for the Women’s World Cup.”

Executive director for the Dallas Sports Commission, Monica Paul, said they’ve also received bid documents, but with the more imminent tournaments, they have not had a chance to review the 2031 documents closely enough to see what differs from the 2026 tournament.

This Women’s World Cup is very, very important to me as a woman, but also as somebody working in Dallas, trying to build the landscape, seeing the growth of women’s sports in Dallas,” Paul said at the 2026 host event on Monday. “This is something that’s … at the top of our list for the future.”

The list of cities is not exclusive, and the door remains open to additional ones interested in throwing their hats into the ring. But time is running short, especially with the news that the 2031 version of the tournament is expanding to 48 teams from the current 32.

Cities are expected to make a verbal commitment by September, with formal bids due by late November, according to sources familiar with the process. As Sports Business Journal reported last month, the FIFA Congress is expected to approve the hosting roles for the U.S. and Mexico, as well as possible additional countries from the Concacaf region, on April 30 in the Canadian city of Vancouver.

Those on the U.S. side of planning are juggling hosting the upcoming men’s tournament with what’s to come in 2031, including determining the balance of the NFL to smaller stadiums. This is made even more difficult, according to sources, considering maintaining equity with the expanding tournament that will inevitably include smaller match-ups.

The economic impact of any World Cup relies strongly on tourism and funding for transportation, security and fan festivals. With the 2026 men’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, many state and federal governments have already invested taxpayer dollars and public funds — something that may complicate the equation for 2031.

For the 2026 men’s World Cup, 17 American cities made the shortlist to host games, and 11 were selected. It will be the most ambitious World Cup yet, with 48 teams from the six global confederations playing 104 games across 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada in just over five weeks.

The host nations involved in the 2026 tournament have already completed FIFA’s meticulous bidding process, meeting infrastructure demands such as a minimum number of stadiums with specific seating capacities, hotel accommodations, an efficient transportation network, as well as navigating security protocols, and committing millions of dollars to logistics and fan engagement.

For example, Miami-Dade County, which will host seven men’s World Cup matches in 2026, is predicting $46 million in costs between cash subsidies, police services and other host-related expenses. Atlanta, which is hosting eight matches in 2026, has considered these costs, but is still eager to host games in 2031.

“Having flexibility on the fundraising side will be very important for us because, again, there’s always so much public money that we can secure from the state or city to help publicly subsidize it, so we have to get the rest from the private sector,” CEO of Atlanta’s host committee, Dan Corso, said. “I think if we could get ahead of the public fundraising now for 2031 and maybe loosen up some of the categories that have been restricted currently for 2026. If we can open that up a little bit earlier and a little more broadly for us to go after more companies, I think that would help.”

However, with training facilities, transport plans and citywide activation strategies already in place, the existing host cities are well positioned to host again, with far less friction, in 2031. And as women’s soccer continues to surge in popularity in the United States, these places have a chance to cement their status as true soccer cities, not just once, but twice in a decade.

“We’re going to sit with the U.S. Soccer here in a few months, whenever they call that summit together for all the cities that are interested, and really go through the big specs with them and get their perspective of what they think they could do to help cities,” Corso said. “We look forward to that opportunity, but I think cities that are hosting 2026 that are interested in 2031 are taking a lot of notes on what we could apply in 2031 and make it a bit more palatable in some ways.”

Even a year out, some 2026 hosts are running into budget-related issues. In California’s Bay Area, the issue of money not covered through the host committee’s private investment or sponsorships will likely be covered by the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers for operating matches at their home of Levi’s Stadium. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the fee could be as much as $37 million, though the hope is that much of that can be offset.

“I want to bid, but for me to bid it, I’m running a business, so it has to work for the business,” Zaileen Janmohamed, the president and CEO of California’s Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC), told The Athletic at the same World Cup event in New York this week. “We’ve had a lot of learning from the men’s World Cup bid and what’s worked and not worked in our region.”

San Francisco, and more so the broader Bay Area, is well positioned to take advantage of the world’s biggest women’s soccer tournament, too. It has a successful NWSL team, Bay FC, and a team in the amateur USL W league, Oakland Soul. The women’s youth soccer scene is also strong in the Bay Area. That region of northern California also has multiple venues available for the big event, including the NFL’s 68,500-seat Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which will host 2026 men’s World Cup games; San Jose’s PayPal Park with an 18,000 capacity, where Bay FC plays home games; and men’s second-tier team Oakland Roots’ home at the 63,000-seat Oakland Coliseum.

Kansas City is another place with both interest and the ability to host in 2031. According to the president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission & Foundation, Kathy Nelson, Kansas City is going to bid. As one of the epicenters of women’s soccer investment, boasting CPKC Stadium, one of the world’s first purpose-built professional women’s sports arenas, with its 11,500 seats, the Women’s World Cup is a natural fit for the city.

The same goes for New York. Sources close to the NY/NJ host committee are confident the Big Apple will bid to host as well.

In Texas, both Dallas and Houston also seem to be interested in hosting matches in the tournament.

“We are reviewing those documents,” Houston’s host committee president Chris Canetti told The Athletic. While that body did not make a firm commitment to bid, Canetti said it is likely to do so: “There’s usually not an event that comes out where Houston doesn’t want to be a part of it. So my guess would be, at the end of the day, Houston will be very aggressive when it comes to wanting to bring the Women’s World Cup to town.”

Paul also spoke about potentially bidding for 2031 for Dallas. According to Paul, Dallas, which recently wrapped up the inaugural season of its new professional women’s team, Dallas Trinity FC, in the USL Super League, is already thinking about how to leverage the moment not just for a potential World Cup bid, but to boost youth development and the broader women’s soccer ecosystem.

In Miami, host committee president and CEO Alina Hudak won’t be making the final call, but she noted that the area’s leaders are exploring the opportunity. “We’re a city that loves to host major sporting events and, so, as a resident, I would welcome the opportunity to host a World Cup for women in South Florida,” she said during Monday’s host city event.

Others remain laser-focused on the men’s tournament next year.

Boston host committee president Mike Loynd, while enthusiastic about the city’s new NWSL team that starts play when the 2026 season kicks off next March, said it’s too early to discuss a 2031 bid.

In Philadelphia, Kane echoed that sentiment. She said her priority is delivering a successful 2026 before turning attention to what comes next, while also acknowledging that the passion for the women’s game is growing across the United States. “Philadelphia, and (the state of) Pennsylvania, would be an outstanding host of the Women’s World Cup. Right now, Philadelphia Soccer 2026 is very much focused on delivering a great experience for 2026,” she said.

Next year’s tournament will put host cities’ infrastructure on full display. If the numbers add up, some cities may just want to go again.

However, the 2031 Women’s World Cup will not be just a matter of scale, it will be about impact, as some of the potential host cities told The Athletic. That tournament won’t be a test of whether the cities staging its matches can handle a global soccer crowd, it will be about how seriously they are going to bet on the women’s game.

Adam Crafton and Melanie Anzidei contributed to this reporting.

(Top photo: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images)