FIFA has announced that the selection of the host(s) for the 2023 Women's World Cup will be made at its meeting to be held online on June 25.
The FIFA Council meeting was scheduled to take place in early June in Addis Ababa. However, it has been postponed in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The four finalists to host the event include a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand, as well as bids from Brazil, Colombia and Japan. The 2023 edition of the tournament will be the first edition to feature 32 teams.
"All eligible bids will be presented to the FIFA Council in order for it to select the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 host(s) within the scope of an open voting process, in which the result of each ballot and the related votes by the members of the FIFA Council will be made public," the sport's governing body said in a statement.
Since the inception of the tournament in 1991, China and the United States have each hosted the event twice. the other editions of the tournament have been hosted by Sweden, Germany, Canada and France.
"FIFA remains committed to implementing the most comprehensive, objective and transparent bidding process in the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup. This is part of our overall commitment to women's football that, among other things, will see FIFA invest USD 1 billion in women's football during the current cycle," said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
( With inputs from IANS )