Ahead of the 2031 Women’s World Cup, the tournament is expanding from 32 to 48 teams. This change aligns it with the men’s World Cup, which is also increasing its participation numbers for the 2026 event held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This change comes after the women’s tournament increased from 24 to 32 teams in 2023.
A statement from FIFA mentioned:
“After consultation with the confederations and other stakeholders, and given the remarkable recent strides made by women’s football across the world, the FIFA Council has unanimously decided to expand the number of participating teams in the FIFA Women’s World Cup from 32 to 48 as of the 2031 edition.”
The transition is expected to broaden competition by giving more nations a chance to participate, fostering greater investment in women’s football globally.
The new format for the 48-team tournament includes:
- 12 groups
- 104 total matches (up from 64)
- An extended tournament duration by one week.
Spain will defend their Women’s World Cup title at the 2027 contest set for Brazil, while the US will look to improve under coach Emma Hayes after their exit in 2023.
Disciplinary Code Revision on Racism
Additionally, FIFA has revised its disciplinary code to better combat racism, introducing harsher penalties for discriminatory behavior and a three-step process for dealing with racist acts during matches. FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted:
“The revised Disciplinary Code represents a step change in FIFA’s objective to enhance its regulatory framework to prosecute and sanction discrimination and racist abuse in cooperation with our 211 FIFA Member Associations.”
