The 10th edition of the Women’s World Cup will take place in Brazil between 24 June-25 July 2027.
Eight venues will host matches in the tournament. These were all previously used for the men’s 2014 World Cup.
It will be the second and final year to have 32 teams in the competition, with the 2031 edition expanding to 48 teams.
Brazil have already qualified as they are hosting the 2027 World Cup.
Current champions Spain beat England to win their first World Cup title in 2023.
How did the first phase of qualifying work in Europe?
The first round of European qualifying for the World Cup took place between March and June 2026.
Fifty-three European nations were split into three leagues which are set by the 2025 Uefa Women’s Nations League: 16 teams in each of Leagues A and B, and 21 in League C.
The four group winners from League A earned direct qualification to the 2027 World Cup. They were Denmark, France, Spain and Germany.
The remaining League A teams drop down to the play-offs, including England and the Republic of Ireland.
The top three sides from each League B group also enter the play-offs, as do the six League C group winners and the two best League C group runners up.
As well as World Cup qualification, qualifying also served as a promotion and relegation decider for the next edition of the Uefa Women’s Nations League.
What about the other countries?
A total of 32 teams will qualify from six confederations and the inter-confederation play-off tournament:
Europe: 11 slots
Asia: Six slots
Africa: Four slots
North America, Central America and the Caribbean: Four slots
South America: Three slots
Oceania: One slot
Inter-confederation play-off tournament: Three slots
Who has qualified?
As tournament hosts, Brazil have automatic qualification for the contest.
Confirmed to be joining them having earned qualifying places are:
Europe
- France
- Denmark
- Germany
- Spain
Asia
- Australia
- China
- South Korea
- Japan
- Philippines
- North Korea
Africa
- No teams yet
North America, Central America and the Caribbean
- No teams yet
South America
- Brazil (host nation)
- Argentina
- Colombia
Oceania
- New Zealand
Inter-confederation play-off tournament
- No teams yet
Who are in the European play-offs?
The draw for the European play-offs will take place on Thursday, 18 June.
The play-offs will take place in two rounds between October and December 2026.
In the first round, 32 teams will enter and be split across two paths – Path 1 and Path 2.
In Path 1, teams who finished second and third in League A will be drawn against the sides who reached the play-offs from League C. They will play in a two-legged match in October, with the winner reaching the second round.
In Path 2, the bottom-placed sides from League A and the top League B winners will be drawn against the second and third place teams from League B. Like Path 1, they will play in two-legged matches in October for a place in the second round.
In the second round, taking place across November and December, Path 1 winners will face Path 2 winners in two-legged matches. The winners will qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Another nation that does not qualify directly for the tournament will earn a spot into the inter-confederation play-offs, where they will get a final chance to qualify for the World Cup
League A
Path 1
- England
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Italy
- Republic of Ireland
- Sweden
- Iceland
- Austria
Path 2
- Slovenia
- Poland
- Serbia
- Ukraine
League B
Path 2
- Switzerland
- Portugal
- Scotland
- Wales
- Finland
- Belgium
- Turkey
- Czech Republic
- Albania
- Northern Ireland
- Slovakia
- Israel
League C
Path 1
- Hungary
- Greece
- Romania
- Belarus
- Kosovo
- Lithuania
- Croatia
- Kazakhstan
What are the venues?
In May 2025, Fifa announced that Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo would be the host cities.
Eight stadiums have been selected for the matches:
- Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
- Estadio Nacional, Brasilia
- Arena Castelao, Fortaleza
- Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
- Arena de Pernambuco, Recife
- Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro
- Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
- Arena Itaquera, Sao Paulo
The legendary Maracana in Rio, which hosted the 1950 and 2014 men’s World Cup finals, is the largest stadium selected with a capacity of 78,838. It was also the stage for the final of the women’s Olympic football tournament in 2016.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
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