The International Football Federation (FIFA) has decided “unanimously” to expand from 32 to 48 the number of teams participating in the Women’s World Cup from its 2031 edition, after consulting it with the confederations and more interested parties, and having seen “notable recent advances achieved by women’s football worldwide.”
This was expressed this Friday the FIFA Council with an official statement. “The decision, taken at a meeting held virtually, will significantly expand the representation, offering more nations and players access to the elite competition and accelerating investment in women’s football worldwide,” said the press release.
The World Cup with 48 teams, according to the same press text, “will adopt a format of 12 groups, increasing the total number of games from 64 to 104 and extending the tournament for a week.” “The organization requirements for editions of 2031 and 2035 of the Women’s World Cup have adapted accordingly,” said FIFA statement.
Thus, FIFA said in its note that “it will continue to collaborate with the interested parties involved in the consultation process to address their comments.” Then the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, valued this increase in competitive selections for the final World Cup phase.
“It is not just about having 16 more teams playing in the World Cup, but also taking the following steps in relation to women’s football in general, guaranteeing that more FIFA member associations have the opportunity to benefit from the tournament to develop their women’s football structures from a holistic point of view,” he said in this regard.
Not surprisingly, the 2023 World Cup that crowned Spain as a champion team was the first edition in which teams representing all confederations won at least one match and also that teams of five confederations reached the elimination phase.
“Among many other records, it established a new standard of global competitiveness. This decision guarantees that we maintain the impulse in the growth of women’s football worldwide,” FIFA added in its press release with allusions to the 2023 tournament.
The Council also approved the FIFA action strategy for Afghan women’s football, which plans to create an Afghanistan selection for refugees and “grants-according to the note-to the FIFA administration the mandate of organizing and facilitating its operations to initiate its activities as soon as possible.” FIFA is directly collaborating with the relevant players, “the press text apostilled.
“This is a historical initiative,” added the president of the top international football entity. “FIFA undertakes to give all girls the opportunity to play football,” said Infantino.
As part of its commitment to address racism in football, and in line with what was adopted by 211 FIFA component associations in its 74th Congress, the Council unanimously approved the revised edition of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, including “a comprehensive set of proactive regulatory measures aimed at counteracting discriminatory behavior both inside and outside the court.”
“The revised disciplinary code represents a radical change in the objective of the FIFA to improve its regulatory framework to process and sanction discrimination and racist abuse in cooperation with our 211 FIFA member associations,” infant concluded.