South Africa have withdrawn from the bidding process to become the host nation for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
World’s football governing body FIFA had received expressions of interest from Brazil, a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, a joint bid from the United States and Mexico as well as a bid from South Africa.
However, the latter have now withdrawn their bid, confirming that they wish to focus on a bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
A statement from the South African Football Association read: “South Africa wishes to announce that the country is withdrawing from the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Bid and is considering bidding for the 2031 tournament when FIFA announces the call for countries to bid for the event.
“The time frame for developing the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup bid has been challenging. This does not diminish our commitment to women’s football, and has instead strengthened our commitment to produce a strong South African women’s team for 2031, and a compelling bid for the same tournament.
“We were very pleased by the support and advice from the Minister and Deputy Minister of Sport, when they encouraged us to work towards preparing a future bid, and in this regard, we felt it was better to regroup and present a…
