MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United Proposing a new stadium It has been selected to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup.
Redeveloped Wrexham Racecourse and Birmingham’s unbuilt racecourse powerhouse stadium It is also included in the UK’s official bid announced on Friday.
The joint bid by the football federations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland includes a total of 16 host cities.
Britain is widely expected to be chosen to host the tournament, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino suggesting in April that there was “only one valid bid”. The United States is the only country to express interest in hosting the event in 2031.
United’s bid after being dropped from Great Britain and Ireland’s plans for the 2028 Men’s European Championship is evidence the Premier League club is confident it will have what it calls the “world’s largest” football stadium completed in time for the tournament.
It will cost around £2 billion ($2.6 billion) and United announced earlier this year that it could be ready by the 2030-31 season.
The British bidder said it intended to bring the new stadium into consideration by FIFA “as soon as plans have been confirmed”.
Wrexham are planning to redevelop their stadium and increase its capacity to 18,000. The British bid said the club, which has grown in global appeal since being bought by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, had plans to further increase its capacity by 2035, meeting FIFA requirements.
Birmingham only Plans announced last week Towards the construction of a new 62,000-seater stadium, which could be built by 2030.
Chelsea also joined, arguing that despite the UK’s bid, Stamford Bridge Stadium did not meet FIFA’s technical specifications. Whether it is included in the final plans will depend on whether the venue is redeveloped or a new ground is built.
The 21 stadiums include Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Everton. Host cities outside England will be Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
England hosted the Men’s World Cup in 1966, and the English national team only won the competition once.
The Women’s World Cup will follow the men’s Euro 2028, which will be jointly hosted by Great Britain and Ireland.
“Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup is a great honor for our four home nations,” the federations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said in a joint statement. “If we are successful, the 2035 tournament will be the largest single sporting event held on mainland Britain, with 4.5 million tickets available for fans.”
England hosted and won the Women’s Euro 2022. The Lionesses retained the trophy this year as well.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The Lionesses’ success has inspired girls across our country. We will build on that momentum by welcoming millions of football fans from around the world to the tournament, which will benefit local communities and businesses in host cities across the UK and abroad.”
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