Selhurst Park among 22 stadiums for 2035 Women’s World Cup
Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace, Birmingham City’s planned new stadium and Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground are set to host games at the Women’s World Cup in 2035.
They are among 22 venues – along with the more established likes of Wembley, the Principality Stadium, Hampden Park and Windsor Park – proposed by the football associations of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, who will co-host the 48-team tournament.
Other clubs set to stage matches at the 2035 Women’s World Cup include Manchester United and Chelsea, although both have planned stadium redevelopments or builds that would require approval from governing body Fifa.
Selhurst Park has not hosted international football since 2002, when the Lionesses lost a World Cup qualifying match to France. It is also set to be upgraded, with a new main stand boosting capacity from 25,000 to 34,000.
Ashton Gate in Bristol, St James’ Park in Newcastle, Elland Road in Leeds, Brighton’s American Express Stadium, the City Ground in Nottingham, Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool and Hibernian’s Easter Road in Edinburgh are also on the proposed list.
Organisers claim 63m people live within two hours of one of the venues, therefore making it “the most accessible tournament ever”.
UK to host Euro 2028 and Women’s World Cup
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s hosting of the 2035 Women’s World Cup will not be officially ratified until next year but was the only proposal submitted to Fifa.
“If we are successful, the 2035 tournament will be the biggest single-sport event held on UK soil with 4.5m tickets available for fans,” the FAs said.
“We are proud of the growth that we’ve driven in recent years across the women’s and girls’ game, but there is still so much more growth to come, and this event will play a key role in helping us deliver that.”
Before then, the UK and Ireland will co-host Euro 2028 – the first major men’s international football tournament solely staged here for more than 30 years.
“Our bid to host the 2035 Fifa Women’s World Cup shows the UK’s passion for football,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The Lionesses’ success has inspired girls across our country, and we’ll build on that momentum by welcoming millions of football fans from around the world to a tournament that will benefit communities and businesses in host cities up and down the UK.”