U.S. Soccer, NWSL see 2031 Women's World Cup as ‘catalyst' for growth and league expansion
'It gives us something to work towards that we know from history can change the interest level in women's soccer,' NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told The Athletic before the U.S. women's national team face Brazil on Saturday, a rematch of the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match.
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that the U.S. submitted the only 'valid bid' to host the 2031 tournament before the governing body's deadline. FIFA later announced that the U.S. submitted a joint bid with 'other member associations from Concacaf (to be confirmed in due course).'
The longer runway allows for significant planning time, especially with the potential to build upon hosting the 2026 men's World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson stressed that the bid includes growing the game across the region through Concacaf participation, and pointed to Friday's announcement of Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang doubling down on her investment in U.S. Soccer with a $25 million contribution. Batson said this will allow the federation to be better prepared for 2031.
'Your ability to use the World Cup as a catalyst is before, not after,' Batson said. 'So starting way early on, that is something that we're really excited about.'
Details about what the bid includes are thin, with Mexico absent on paper after their previous co-host billing from the 2027 bidding process. However, Batson called the U.S. a 'co-host' rather than a host. Many of the details, he said, depend on the tournament potentially expanding to a 48-team endeavor, which he said is something U.S. Soccer has been 'passionate supporters for.'
'We think it would be incredible for growing the women's game,' Batson told reporters on Friday.
'One of the things we hear from folks who lead federations around the world is they view the Women's World Cup as an opportunity for them to 1. make a World Cup, and 2., really go compete in a way they wouldn't be able to on the men's side,' Batson said. With U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone now a member of the FIFA Council, it's another chance for the federation to advocate for tournament expansion.
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Beyond U.S. Soccer, the NWSL stands to benefit from the third Women's World Cup on home soil — and the first with a professional league in a position to take advantage of the tournament bump.
'Hopefully, this will be a catalyst for a lot of cities,' Kang, whose Washington Spirit was a beaten finalist in the NWSL last year, said following the SheBelieves Summit at a small media roundtable. 'Even from an infrastructure perspective, I'm trying to convince our area that the World Cup is coming and Washington, D.C. could be the center of women's football, not just government and political power. We're trying to use that as an opportunity to expand the presence and get women's football squarely in the mainstream.'
Angel City CEO and co-founder Julie Uhrman was enthusiastic about what hosting the World Cup could offer all levels of the sport.
'It's more visibility for women's football, it's more access to see incredible athletes,' Uhrman said. 'Then the idea that most of them play in the NWSL, and you can continue to see them every single month following the World Cup, it's a huge opportunity, not only for the league but to grow the sport from the grassroots level all the way to the professional level.'
Existing and potential NWSL markets stand to benefit six years down the line, a landscape that Berman has aspirations to expand as large as the NFL.
With Denver and Boston entering the league in 2026 before the men's World Cup, there are no signs that the NWSL will stop there. Berman said that while expansion plans have been based on the league's business, a 2031 World Cup in the U.S. could provide an additional filter for the league to consider.
'I'm very confident that our expansion will continue between now and then, so this will certainly give us even more reason to be bullish on our expansion plan,' Berman said. 'Seeing how the country reacts to the men's World Cup next year will be really important. We're already working closely with FIFA and the host committees, even though it's the men's World Cup, to capitalize on it being here. Through that, we can formulate a plan that will take us through 2031.'
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The Latest: England and Spain 1-1 in Euro 2025 final
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Defending champion England faces Spain in the final of the Women's European Championship. The match in Basel is a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final where Spain defeated the Lionesses 1-0. Coincidentally, the same countries played in the men's European Championship final last year. Spain won that match 2-1. Here's the latest: England equalizer England equalized when Alessia Russo made it 1-1 in the 57th minute. Chloe Kelly whipped one of her trademark crosses into the box from the left and Russo rose above the defense to make it 1-1. Spain leads 1-0 at halftime Spain heads into the break in the lead after Mariona Caldentey's goal in the 25th. Both teams traded early blows but Spain looked stronger after the goal. La Roja kept most of the possession and did not allow England to threaten much. England also trailed at halftime in the quarterfinal against Sweden and semifinal against Italy, but still won both games. Spain takes the lead Mariona Caldentey has made it 1-0 for Spain in the 25th minute. Ona Batlle whipped in a cross from the right, after good work by Aitana Bonmati, and Caldentey headed it powerfully home. Closing ceremony Swiss former player Lara Dickenmann carried the trophy out onto the field after the closing ceremony of Euro 2025. A large circular banner was unfurled in the center of the field in tribute to the host nation, while smaller banners were displayed nearby with 'Thank You' in Switzerland's four official languages —Italian, French, German, and Romansh. Two large Alpine-inspired shapes were then carried onto the field, with the England flag on one and Spain's on the other. Nearly 30,000 inflatable clappers had been distributed to the fans beforehand, while 40 members of the closing ceremony cast also had them on the field. The Asturia Quartet, an all-female string ensemble, performed the national anthems. 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James is back for England Lauren James has recovered from injury and starts for England with coach Sarina Wiegman making just one change. James had to come off at halftime in England's semifinal victory over Italy on Tuesday with an ankle problem and was seen applying ice to her injury during the match. James has started all five of England's games at Euro 2025 and has been named in the lineup for the final. Defender Jess Carter returns after being omitted from the starting lineup for the first time against Italy, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament. England's lineup: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; James, Russo, Hemp. St. Jakob-Park is filling up Basel's soccer stadium has a capacity of 34,250 during Euro 2025 and no empty seats are expected at the final. With an hour to go until kickoff, thousands of fans have already taken their seats. Even before the final, the tournament has broken the total attendance record for a Women's European Championship. A total of 623,088 spectators have attended the 30 matches so far, surpassing the previous total attendance record of 574,875 from Euro 2022. Skies clear up after heavy rain in Basel There have been intermittent torrential showers and thunderstorms but that has not dampened the spirits of thousands of Spanish and England fans that have been gathering in the fan zones in Basel. The rain teemed down about two hours before kickoff but the sun came out shortly afterward and the skies above St. Jakob-Park have cleared up for now. Defending champions did it the hard way England got off to a rough start with a 2-1 defeat to France, becoming the first reigning champion to lose its opening match at a women's Euros. The team bounced back with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales. Then came the craziness of its quarterfinal against Sweden when it was trailing 2-0 with 12 minutes to go before equalizing and taking the match to extra time and a penalty shootout. There were nine failed penalty attempts before England finally triumphed 3-2. England left it even later in its semifinal against Italy. Teenager Michelle Agyemang leveled in stoppage time to force extra time and fellow substitute Chloe Kelly scored in the 119th minute to secure a 2-1 win, just as it appeared another penalty shootout was looming. (Almost) smooth sailing for Spain Spain swept through the group stage, winning all three matches against Portugal, Belgium and Italy — scoring 14 goals and conceding three. Spain found it tougher to get past Switzerland in the quarterfinals but finally broke the resistance of the host nation with two quickfire goals midway through the second half. Spain also missed two penalties and hit the woodwork three times. Like England, its semifinal lasted 120 minutes. It took a moment of magic from two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in the 113th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Germany. ___ AP soccer:
