The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Council has unanimously decided to expand the number of participating teams in the senior Women’s World Cup from 32 to 48 as of the 2031 edition.
The decision to expand the participating teams was taken after consultation with the confederations and other stakeholders, and given the remarkable recent strides made by women’s football across the world.
A statement from FIFA Read:”The decision, taken at a meeting held virtually, will significantly broaden representation, offering more nations and players access to elite competition and accelerating investment in women’s football worldwide.
“The 48-team FIFA Women’s World Cup will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 and extending the tournament by one week. The hosting requirements for the 2031 and 2035 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been adapted accordingly.
“FIFA will further engage with the stakeholders involved in the consultation process to address their feedback.”
Speaking on the decision for the expansion, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said:“This is not just about having 16 more teams playing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup but taking the next steps in relation to the women’s game in general by ensuring that more FIFA Member Associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women’s football structures from a holistic point of view.
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“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the first in which teams from all confederations won at least one game and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stage, among many other records, set a new standard for global competitiveness. This decision ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women’s football globally.”
Also, the FIFA Council equally approved its Strategy for Action for Afghan Women’s Football, which foresees the establishment of the Afghan women’s refugee team (AWRT) and provides the FIFA administration with a mandate to organise and facilitate its operations to start its activities as soon as possible. FIFA is engaging directly with the relevant players.
“This is a landmark initiative,” added the FIFA President. “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”
Meanwhile, the world football governing body dislcosed that the new provisions to tackle racist abuse: The three-step anti-discrimination procedure has been included in article 15, which has been expanded to tackle the issue of racism specifically, and all confederations and MAs will be required to enforce it.
It explained that the maximum fine to be imposed in cases of racist abuse has increased significantly, with the limit now set at CHF 5,000,000.
For accountability in cases of racist abuse, players and officials may help to identify individuals perpetrating racist abuse in order to facilitate the necessary action, including the removal of the perpetrators from the stadium.
Member Associations will be required to adapt their disciplinary provisions to bring them in line with the general principles of the FDC.
The governing body reserves the right to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against decisions in cases of racist abuse, as well as to intervene in cases where there is a lack of sufficient action on the part of the relevant Member Associations.
“The revised Disciplinary Code represents a step change in FIFA’s objective to enhance its regulatory framework to prosecute and sanction discrimination and racist abuse in cooperation with our 211 FIFA Member Associations,” Infantino said.
