FA and US Soccer seek more control from Fifa over Women’s World Cups | Women’s World Cup
The U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. Soccer Federation have joined forces to pressure FIFA to change its proposed organizational model for the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups.
Both federations are reportedly seeking to strengthen their local control after concerns over the hosting of this summer’s men’s World Cup, including over ticket costs and financial disputes with some U.S. and municipal authorities.
US Soccer and the FA are respectively the only candidates for the 2031 and 2035 World Cups, which will be awarded by Fifa at an extraordinary general assembly in November.
The US bid involves matches also being staged in Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, and the FA is leading a joint bid with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
American soccer sources said they were encouraged by FIFA’s willingness to listen to their concerns during early conversations.
Fifa has tweaked its decades-long World Cup model following the 2022 tournament in Qatar to take control of operations and delivery of this summer’s competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Previously, this responsibility fell to the local organizing committee (Loc), a joint venture with the hosts.
Under the new model, Fifa is responsible for broadcast rights, sponsorship and ticket sales and retains the revenue, while venues and host cities are responsible for paying for “safety, security and protection”, which has led to tensions. As well as widespread complaints over ticket prices of $10,990 (£8,100) for the final, problems have arisen between Fifa and US cities, particularly over ancillary costs.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has sharply criticized Fifa for its failure to contribute to transport costs, after NJ Transit caused outrage by revealing it would charge $150 (£110) for a round trip from Manhattan to New York New Jersey Stadium.
Escalating costs have also led many cities to cancel or scale back their commitment to hosting official Fifa fan festivals, with only Philadelphia and Houston fulfilling Fifa’s original mandate to hold a 39-day festival covering the entire tournament.
The FA and US Soccer have reportedly argued that these problems have been exacerbated by FIFA’s failure to understand the local market and would like to have more say in how tournaments are run.
UEFA uses the Loc model to deliver the European Championship, with a delivery company, UK & Ireland 2028 Limited, set up to deliver Euro 2028. The FA would like to see this reintroduced for the Women’s World Cup.
The FA is particularly concerned about Fifa’s bullish approach to ticket prices and the adoption of variable prices.
The FA has worked with UEFA to freeze ticket prices for Euro 2028 compared to the previous tournament in Germany, with 40% of tickets available in the two cheapest “Fans First” categories, costing less than £30 and less than £60.
The FA and US Soccer declined to comment.
