Delegates from the 211 FIFA members are to vote at a Congress in Bangkok on Friday, May 17 on where the 2027 Women's World Cup will be held. This will be the first time that a full FIFA Congress decides whether a country or countries will host a Women's World Cup. The previous nine World Cup hosts were decided either by the FIFA Executive Committee or later by the FIFA Council. The last World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand last year, featured 32 teams for the first time. The 2027 edition of the tournament will remain at 32 teams.

Which countries are in the running?

Originally, there were three bidders for the Women's World Cup 2027. However, late last month, the United States and Mexico withdrew their joint bid. This left the joint European bid of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium up against Brazil, which is hoping to become the first South American country to host a Women's World Cup.

The European bid includes 13 proposed host stadiums, four in Germany, four in Belgium, and five in the Netherlands. The German stadiums are all located in the west of the country, relatively close to the country's borders with Belgium and the Netherlands.

"I believe that we can offer a World Cup with excellent infrastructure and organization, with short distances between venues and the prospect of a very good financial return, which will flow back into the worldwide development of women's football," said DFB (German Football Association) sporting director and former Germany player Nia Künzer.

What are the chances of success for the European bid?

Until recently, the chances of success for the European joint bid looked good. But in FIFA's evaluation report released on May 8, the bid was given just 3.7 out of a possible 5 points, while Brazil scored 4.0. In the risk analysis, the three-way European bid scored better or equally well in almost all categories. However, Brazil was given the edge in the sub-category of stadiums, contractual framework conditions and supporting documents from the state.

According to the report, the European bid entailed a "number of legal risks" and the governments had not agreed to provide required guarantees. Therefore, it concluded, FIFA risked "being exposed to substantive operational and financial issues."

Although the report is not binding and men's World Cups have often been awarded against the best rating in an evaluation report in the past, Brazil is now regarded as the clear favorite. The first FIFA evaluation report for a Women's World Cup was prepared for the 2023 tournament. In that case, the FIFA Council followed the recommendation and awarded the tournament to Australia and New Zealand.

Could the European bid still win anyway?

Despite the findings of the report, Germany has not given up hope of winning the bid. Speaking to reporters after the final of the women's German Cup, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the fact that it was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,400 at Cologne's Rhein-Energie-Stadion was a strong sign of support for the women's game in the country.

"We would be ready for a World Cup in the heart of Europe that promotes women and women's football, is sustainable and focuses on the fans," Faeser said.

"We are all eagerly awaiting that," she added.

This article was originally published in German.