The Brazilian bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) soccer tournament has been given a higher rating, by global governing body FIFA, than the rival joint submission from Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

With an open vote to decide the destination of the 2027 WWC set to take place on May 17 at the FIFA congress in Bangkok, Thailand, Brazil’s bid has been given a rating of 4.0 out of 5 by FIFA’s technical inspection team - in a report published late yesterday (May 7) - as opposed to 3.7 for the European bid.

The report determined that both submissions “have exceeded the minimum requirements” for putting on the event.

The 2023 WWC was held jointly by Australia and New Zealand, while the 2019 edition was staged in France.

Brazil’s bid did better in terms of the inspection team’s evaluation than its European rivals’ effort, in three out of five categories - covering stadiums, accommodation, and FIFA fan festival sites.

Brazil is bidding to become the first South American country to host the WWC.

The European submission, on the other hand, outscored Brazil’s effort in terms of both team and referee facilities, and broadcast/media sites.

Out of the trio of European nations, Germany has put on the soccer tournament before, staging the 2011 edition.

FIFA’s evaluation team also rated the European submission’s legal situation as ‘high-risk.’

A bid to host the 2027 event submitted by the US and Mexico in April last year was withdrawn recently.

Those countries will now instead focus on the 2031 edition.

In what FIFA described as “the most robust and comprehensive bidding process in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup”, the governing body has been conducting an evaluation process, including on-site inspection visits that got underway in February. That process has now concluded with the official Bid Evaluation Report.

Last year, South Africa also withdrew its bid to host the tournament in 2027 to focus on bidding for the 2031 WWC instead.

US Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation believe they will be better positioned for a 2031 bid after they co-host the 2026 men’s World Cup with Canada. The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games are also taking place in the US.

At the Bangkok congress, each of FIFA’s 211 member nations will have an open vote on which bid is chosen to host the 2027 event.