The United Kingdom have effectively been confirmed as hosts of the 2035 Women’s World Cup, while the USA and Mexico are poised to jointly stage the 2031 edition of the competition.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed that they had only received “one valid bid” for the next two available Women’s World Cups at the 49th UEFA Congress in Belgrade on Thursday. The 2027 tournament will be staged in Brazil.

“I can confirm that we have received one bid for 2031, and one valid bid for 2035,” Infantino declared. “The 2031 bid is from the USA and potentially some other CONCACAF nations. The 2035 bid is from Europe, from the home nations.

“So, the path is there for the Women’s World Cup to be taking place in 2031 and 2035 in some great countries, in some great nations, to boost even more the women’s football movement.”

It was confirmed last year that the football federations of US and Mexico were uniting in their effort to host the global competition. The 2026 Men’s World Cup will be staged across the US, Mexico and Canada despite growing political tensions between the three North American nations.

English Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham was enthused by the prospect of staging a first-ever Women’s World Cup on British soil. “We are honoured to be the sole bidder for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035,” Bullingham gushed. “Hosting the first FIFA World Cup since 1966 with our home nations partners will be very special. The hard work starts now, to put together the best possible bid by the end of the year.”

The official hosts will be confirmed and ratified at next year’s FIFA congress.

England reached the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, losing to Spain by a single goal, and are the defending European champions.