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Doha – Spain, Morocco, and Portugal are set to submit a joint bid to host the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Rafael Louzán announced on Friday at Madrid’s Rey Juan Carlos University.
“There is no better way to give visibility to women’s sports than by contributing to the world’s leading sporting event, a World Cup. We are working on this,” Louzán stated during the presentation of an Observatory on Equality.
The three countries are already collaborating to host the 2030 men’s World Cup, and this new initiative aims to strengthen their partnership in women’s football. The bid must be submitted by April 5, with detailed project proposals due one month later.
FIFA will decide the hosts for both the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups during its 76th Congress in the second quarter of 2026, marking the first time two tournaments will be assigned simultaneously.
Under FIFA’s regulations, confederations are restricted in their bidding options, with CAF and UEFA eligible for the 2035 edition.
The potential bid faces competition from a joint United Kingdom proposal involving England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
South Africa has also expressed interest in hosting either the 2031 or 2035 tournament, having withdrawn its candidacy for the 2027 edition, which was awarded to Brazil.
Spain’s national women’s team coach, Montse Tomé, welcomed the announcement: “It would be a great joy if Spain could be among the options to bring the Women’s World Cup to our country. Having experienced the 2019 World Cup in France, I’ve seen how it increased attention to our national team.”
The three bidding countries currently hold different positions in the FIFA rankings, with Spain coming in second place, Portugal ranking 22nd, and Morocco in 60th place.
The joint bid builds on Morocco’s growing presence in women’s football, following the national team’s first World Cup appearance in 2023, where Spain emerged as the tournament champions.
During the second quarter of 2025, FIFA will conduct workshops and working meetings to discuss requirements and initial concepts. Final bids must be submitted in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by evaluation processes including on-site inspection visits.
