The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup marks the 10th edition of the tournament. There will be thirty-two teams participating. These teams will be split into eight groups, each consisting of four teams. In order to advance to the knockout round, a team must place in the top two of their group. The knockout round will consist of sixteen teams that will then advance to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and ultimately the final.
The tournament will be hosted across eight cities in Brazil: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo. The opening match, semi-final and final match will be played at Estadio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
The tournament commences on 24 June 2027 and concludes on 25 of July 2027.
Fans in South Africa will be able to stream the fixtures for free as the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will broadcast the fixtures of the tournament on SABC 1, SABC 3, SABC Sport, SABC Plus and SABC Radio Stations.
The following national teams have already qualified for the tournament: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Malawi, Morocco, New Zealand, North Korea, Philippines and Spain.
There are currently no North American, Central American or Caribbean national teams that have qualified for the tournament. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) W Championship will commence on the 27th of November 2026 and conclude on the 5th of December 2026. The teams that qualify for the semi-finals will automatically qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, while two teams will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Inter-Confederation Play-Off Tournament.
There is still a chance for Chinese Taipei, Ghana, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela to book their flights to Brazil, as they have qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Inter-Confederation Play-Off Tournament.
In 2023, Spain lifted the Women’s World Cup Trophy after beating England in Sydney, Australia; a title that they hope to retain. However, the competition is tough; Japan, the winners of the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, fell short in the previous quarter-finals and will be looking to progress further in the tournament. Following their win over Malawi in the 2026 Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON), Cameroon will also compete, marking their third appearance in the tournament.
There are many talented players to watch out for. The following players are representative of national teams that have already qualified: Cata Coll (Spain), who is the first female player to be nominated for the Women’s Ballon d’Or and the Women’s Yashin Trophy simultaneously; Momoko Tanikawa (Japan), who has won the Asian Cup, Bundesliga, German Cup, and German Super Cup; Temwa Chaŵinga (Malawi), who won the Golden Boot at the 2026 WAFCON Tournament.
After failing to beat South Africa in a decisive play-off match to qualify for the intercontinental qualifiers, the nine-time WAFCON Champions, Nigeria, failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. They join Côte d’Ivoire, Vietnam, and Zambia as nations that will miss out on the upcoming World Cup Tournament, having previously been qualified for others.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is a celebration of diversity, progress, and unity. It acts as a common ground for supporters who come from various backgrounds to come together and watch as teams make history. The world will come to a standstill for a month as we watch in anticipation to see which of the thirty-two nations will samba to the finals and which one team will ultimately lift the trophy in the marvellous city of Rio de Janeiro.
Visual: Daniel Green
