FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer Dame Sarai Bareman have unveiled the 2027 Women’s World Cup schedule in Zurich, Switzerland, on Thursday, August 20, 2026, confirming where and when all 64 matches of the tournament will be played across eight Brazilian host cities.
The tournament will run from June 24 to July 25, 2027, with Brazil becoming the first South American country to host the Women’s World Cup. The competition will feature 32 teams and 64 matches, continuing the expanded format introduced at the 2023 edition.
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The announcement gives supporters a clearer picture of what promises to be a historic tournament, with the legendary Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro selected to host both the opening match and the final.
Brazil will begin its campaign at the Maracanã on Thursday, June 24, before travelling to São Paulo for a group-stage fixture at Arena Itaquera on June 29.
The hosts will then face another group-stage test at Brasília’s Estádio Nacional on July 4.
Each of the eight host cities will stage at least seven matches, including at least one knockout fixture, ensuring that the tournament’s reach extends well beyond Brazil’s traditional football centres.
Brasília, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador will host matches through the round of 16, while Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo will stage quarter-final encounters.
São Paulo will also host one semi-final and the bronze-medal match.
The other semi-final and the decisive final will take place at the Maracanã.
For Infantino, the tournament represents an important moment for women’s football and an opportunity for Brazil’s football culture to provide the backdrop for a global sporting event.
“We can’t wait to witness a new chapter of women’s football history unfold when the world’s best players, coaches, fans and local communities take centre stage in Brazil next year,” Infantino said.
Bareman said FIFA had considered both competitive fairness and the experience of supporters when putting the fixture schedule together.
“We carefully balanced sporting fairness across all 32 teams, considering travel distances, recovery time between matches and the overall competition experience,” Bareman said.
The scheduling also aims to give supporters across Brazil a meaningful role in the tournament.
FIFA Fan Festivals will be organised in the host cities, allowing fans to experience the competition beyond the stadiums.
The Maracanã’s selection carries particular historical significance.
The Rio landmark will become only the third stadium in history to host both a men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup final.
It joins Sweden’s former Råsunda Stadium, which staged the men’s final in 1958 and women’s final in 1995, and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, United States, which hosted the men’s final in 1994 and women’s final in 1999.
Former Brazil women’s captain Aline Pellegrino, now executive director of Legacy and Stakeholder Affairs for the 2027 tournament, described the occasion as a source of national pride.
“Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil is a source of immense pride,” Pellegrino said, adding that people from Brazil and around the world would come together to celebrate women’s football.
The 2027 tournament will also be a landmark event for South America.
FIFA has confirmed that it will be the 10th edition of the Women’s World Cup and the first to be staged on the continent.
Brazil qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining places are being determined through the various continental qualification processes and the inter-confederation play-offs.
The timing of the schedule release also gives supporters, host cities and tournament stakeholders an opportunity to begin detailed preparations ahead of next year’s competition.
FIFA said the schedule will be updated following the final tournament draw later this year, when the participating teams are placed into their respective groups.
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With the Maracanã now confirmed for both the opening match and final, Brazil’s biggest football stage is set to provide a memorable backdrop to what FIFA hopes will be another significant step forward for the women’s game.
