On Tuesday, December 10th, FIFA announced the slot allocation and dates for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Brazil. Although the distribution of slots per confederation, including for the play-off tournament, remains the same, the play-off tournament will have a different format.
The first match of the 2027 WWC will kick off on Thursday, June 24, 2027, with the final being played on Sunday, July 25, 2027.
Concacaf, of which the USA is a member, will have four direct slots plus two play-off spots. The two play-off teams from Concacaf will receive byes for the first phase of the play-off tournament, so they will only have to play a single additional match in order to earn a WWC slot.
For more on Concacaf’s qualifying format for the next WWC, see “Concacaf takes step backward with qualifying format for the 2027 Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympics” (1-Oct-2024).
Qualifying Slot Allocation
For 2027, the FIFA Women’s World Cup will have a 32-team field, as it did in 2023. Also, as in 2023, 29 of the slots will be filled through confederation qualifying, while the remaining three slots will be filled via a inter-confederation play-off tournament.
Direct Slots (29)
- AFC (Asia): 6
- CAF (Africa): 4
- Concacaf: 4
- CONMEBOL (South America): 3 (including the host, Brazil)
- OFC (Oceania): 1
- UEFA (Europe): 11
Play-Off Tournament (10)
- AFC (Asia): 2
- CAF (Africa): 2
- Concacaf: 2 (both enter at second phase)
- CONMEBOL (South America): 2 (top-ranked team enters at second phase)
- OFC (Oceania): 1
- UEFA (Europe): 1 (enters at second phase)
Play-Off Tournament Format
In a change from the 2023 WWC, the play-off tournament for the final three slots will be contested over two international windows, rather than just one.
As noted above, four of the teams that qualify for the play-off tournament will get byes to the second phase.
Both phased will be played at to-be-announced centralized venues.
First Phase (November-December 2026)
Six teams — two teams from the AFC, two teams from CAF, one team from CONMEBOL, and one team from the OFC — will be reduced to two teams via an unspecified format. Those two teams will advance to the Second Phase.
The format for the First Phase will likely involve the six teams split into separate knockout brackets of three teams, with the highest-ranked team in each bracket playing the winner of a match-up between the lower-ranked teams. (compare the format for the 2023 WWC play-off tournament)
Rankings will be based on the latest FIFA rankings prior to the play-off draw.
Second Phase (February 2027)
The four teams that got byes — two from Concacaf, one from UEFA, and the higher-ranked CONMEBOL team — plus the two advancing teams from the First Phase will be paired off. The winner of each of the three “direct knockout match[es]” will qualify for the WWC.
At least for this Second Phase, teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn together.
FIFA Press Release: “FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 dates confirmed” (10-Dec-2024)
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