In a competition between three teams for the upcoming Women's World Cup, Brazil has always been considered to be outside of the competition. The International Football Federation (FIFA), which is the governing body of soccer on a global scale, had good reasons to favor either the joint North American bid of Mexico and the United States or the European bid of the triumvirate of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany (BNG). These two bids represented core markets that could provide guaranteed revenue and a path to equal prize money after the tournament in faraway Australia and New Zealand.
At the beginning of this month, however, the United States of America and Mexico decided to withdraw their bids, and on Tuesday, FIFA's own bid review report indicated that Brazil was the bidder with the most impressive credentials. There was a reduction in the BNG bid, which received a score of 3.7. Brazil received a 4.0 rating.
A high risk score on its legal structure led to the rejection of the European proposal. The study pointed out that Belgium, the junior partner of BNG, has not met the level of commitment required by FIFA in specific areas such as taxes, immigration procedures, labor law, and safety and security. In addition to the risks associated with operational execution, FIFA is vulnerable to possible unforeseen financial obligations.
In addition, FIFA acknowledged the existence of tax concerns in the Netherlands and brought attention to a few issues in Germany. Nations responsible for hosting the World Cup often offer significant tax advantages to Switzerland as part of their host contracts. FIFA considers a condition essential to the organization's operations and the safety of its officials, which prospective host countries must adhere to if they hope to win the World Cup hosting competition.
Small stadiums, Belgium's status as a minor co-bidder, Europe's lack of appeal in the rest of the globe, and Gianni Infantino's aversion to the UEFA area were all difficulties that were always present in the BNG bid. Pascal Van Damme, the supervisor of the Belgian Football Association (FA) and one of the world's few female presidents, perhaps best exemplified this. Van Damme offered a message of diversity and sustainability in order to influence other soccer organizations. These issues have never been able to persuade the FIFA family, despite the fact that the technical examination highlighted the "compact tournament footprint" of the Bahamas National Team.
Lobbying in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two nations with a contentious history of human rights violations, was something that Van Damme did without any reservations. The Europeans targeted Asia and Africa, two wealthy voting confederations, and they were there at the Club World Cup in Jeddah in December of last year, as well as at the beginning of 2024 for both the Asian Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
At that time, Brazil was once again right in the middle of a crisis that was affecting its institutions. A court in Rio ousted Ednaldo Rodrigues, the head of the CBF, from his position as president and ordered new elections. No one staged the elections. Behind the scenes, FIFA intervened in order to ensure that Rodrigues, a member of the FIFA Council, remained in power.
In this race, even after the United States dropped out of the competition, the United States has a decade of soccer to look forward to with the 2025 Club World Cup, the 2026 World Cup, the 2028 Olympic soccer tournament, and a potential bid for the 2031 Women's World Cup. Everything is not what it might seem like. Any crisis of this nature should have decimated a bidding nation's chances of securing hosting rights.
FIFA determined that the Brazilian proposal's legal issues posed a low level of risk. The study evaluating the proposal aimed to "...make the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 successful or more successful than the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, among others, by implementing a similar event law."
During that time period, Brazil enacted a unique World Cup law in order to circumvent its own local rules. FIFA, on the other hand, departed Brazil feeling frustrated and content to leave behind the bureaucracy and infamous lethargy that plagued the nation. As a result, the current high score for Brazil comes as somewhat of a surprise, despite the fact that the South Americans have strong arguments: Brazil was able to host a good World Cup in 2014, and the area has never hosted a Women's World Cup.
According to a trustworthy source inside the CBF, everything revolved around Infantino's desires. The Congress will vote on the host award for the first time, but we should not underestimate Infantino's power as an executive president.
Infantino's advocacy for Saudi Arabia to successfully host the World Cup in 2034 may provide the most important hint. Conmebol, the governing body of South American football, gave up its hopes of hosting the World Cup in 2030 with more ease than it should have and instead settled for hosting just three matches. What if South America were to get a consolation prize instead of the Women's World Cup in 2027? If this were the case, it would explain why Brazil has been so optimistic about the possibility of hosting another big tournament that will take place in 2027.
