“Series of legal risks”
FIFA rejects German bid for 2027 World Cup
May 8, 2024, 10:06 p.m
The football associations of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands have announced record sales with their bid for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. That doesn’t seem to be enough for the world association FIFA. A report shortly before the World Cup was awarded identified major problems – and rated Brazil’s application higher.
Rated worse than the competitor, received a lot of scolding, only got 3.7 out of 5 possible points: around a week before the award, the German Football Association (DFB) and its colleagues have one in their application to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup suffered a bitter setback. The evaluation report by the world association FIFA sees Brazil with 4.0 points ahead of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Page 27 of 92 in particular reads like a punch in the stomach for the DFB and its partners. There are a “number of legal risks,” governments would “not guarantee” the required guarantees, and FIFA risks “being confronted with significant operational and financial problems.”
In response to a request from “Sportschau”, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), which is responsible for sport, said that a precise allocation of the criticisms would be made in coordination with the DFB and the partners in Belgium and the Netherlands. The BMI was positive: “The chances of a joint application from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany remain good against the background of FIFA’s generally positive assessment.”
Although the report is only a recommendation for the 211 FIFA members and finals have often been awarded against the best rating in the past, Brazil is now the favorite in the vote at the congress on May 17th in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. This makes it more likely that a Women’s World Cup will be held in South America for the first time.
The USA and Mexico as well as South Africa have withdrawn applications
Despite FIFA’s cryptic wording, the background to the rating seems clear: the world association is once again aiming for maximum revenue. It has already been a thorn in FIFA’s side in the past when it was unable to enforce its demands for state support and tax relief as desired.
The wording following the criticism makes it clear that this is now about to happen again. Accordingly, the risks could be minimized if those involved implement their “commitments to cooperate with FIFA” “in a timely and effective manner” in order to meet the “requirements of the tournament”.
Apparently it’s not enough for the world association that the European bid promised “the most commercially successful Women’s World Cup of all time.” The proceeds from the previous finals in Australia and New Zealand amounting to around 530 million euros should therefore be increased by 50 percent.
Germany hosted the World Cup alone in 2011. For 2027, the DFB is planning Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund as venues. Shortly before the FIFA report, the Europeans’ chances had increased significantly because the USA and Mexico had withdrawn their joint application. South Africa had previously done this.