USSF chief backs 48-team Women's WC in 2031

LOS ANGELES -- U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said the federation would powerfully enactment enlargement of the Women's World Cup to 48 teams successful 2031.

U.S. Soccer submitted the lone "valid bid" for the 2031 tourney anterior to FIFA's deadline, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said connected Thursday.

"Forty-eight teams is thing that we've been passionate supporters for," Batson told a tiny radical of reporters Friday. "We deliberation it would beryllium unthinkable for increasing the women's game."

Infantino has antecedently projected the thought of expanding the contention to 48 teams. Batson said that "all signs are positive" for enlargement to 48 teams, and that U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone would usage her caller spot connected the FIFA Council to dependable that support.

The United States is expected to co-host the 2031 Women's World Cup with different Concacaf nations. Batson said that the fig of teams participating successful the tourney volition dictate which different countries articulation the U.S. arsenic hosts.

Mexico antecedently joined the U.S. successful a 2027 Women's World Cup associated bid that was yet abandoned to let the U.S. to absorption connected 2031. Brazil volition big the 32-team 2027 tournament.

The UK submitted the lone "valid bid" to big the 2035 Women's World Cup. FIFA had antecedently acceptable geographic restrictions connected which continents could big each event.

The Women's World Cup expanded from 16 to 24 teams successful 2015, past expanded to 32 teams successful 2023.

The 2026 Men's World Cup, which volition beryllium co-hosted by the U.S., volition diagnostic 48 teams for the archetypal time.

"One of the things we perceive from folks who pb federations astir the satellite is they presumption the Women's World Cup arsenic an accidental for them to, one, marque a World Cup and, two, truly spell vie successful a mode that conceivably they wouldn't beryllium capable to connected the men's side," Batson said. "So, what this would pb to successful presumption of spurring concern each astir the satellite successful women's and girls' soccer, we deliberation would beryllium incredible."

The U.S. hosted the 1999 and 2003 editions of the Women's World Cup, the second by exigency owed the SARS epidemic successful China, the archetypal big for that year. Canada hosted the 2015 Women's World Cup.

Both Batson and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman utilized the word "catalyst" successful describing the accidental to big the 2031 tournament.

"I deliberation to the grade radical spot the Men's World Cup arsenic a catalyst for the maturation of men's shot here, the Women's World Cup being present successful 2031 is straight a catalyst for growth," Berman told ESPN, referencing 1999 arsenic an inflection point.

"The thought that we really volition person a thriving league going into it and coming retired of it, nary uncertainty should make and unthinkable magnitude of excitement for the aboriginal of the NWSL and we perfectly volition capitalize connected it."

USWNT caput manager Emma Hayes described a 2031 World Cup successful the U.S. arsenic "dreamland," citing the existing infrastructure for adjacent year's Men's World Cup, which volition besides instrumentality spot successful Mexico and Canada.

Hayes, who grew up successful England but started her nonrecreational coaching vocation successful the U.S., expressed excitement for some 2031 and 2035.

"It's just to say, successful immoderate capableness -- instrumentality oregon coaching -- I volition for definite beryllium astatine those World Cups," Hayes said.