The Zambia women’s national team have removed their four U.S.-based players from the squad for a tournament in China due to concerns over U.S. travel measures, the Zambia FA said on Wednesday.

FAZ General Secretary Reuben Kamanga said captain Barbra Banda, Rachael Kundananji, Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda would not be available owing to additional travel measures introduced by the new administration in the U.S.

“After working through the process instigated by recently introduced measures it was decided that it is in the best interest of our players to skip this assignment,” Kamanga said in a statement.

“They will definitely be available for future assignments as they were for the last window when we played Malawi.”

Zambia begin their tournament against Thailand on Saturday.

-Reuters

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The United Kingdom appears set to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup after FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday described its interest as the “one valid bid” for the tournament.

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales announced last month that they would submit a joint bid to host the finals.

“We are honoured to be the sole bidder for the FIFA women’s World Cup 2035,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said in a statement.

“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 United States, with the possibility of other countries in the CONCACAF region joining the U.S., is also poised to be named host of the 2031 Women’s World Cup as the only bid.

Infantino said the tournament will increase from 32 teams to 48 in time for the 2031 World Cup to match the men’s event.

“We received one bid for 2031 and one bid — one valid bid I should add — for 2035,” he added at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade. “The 2035 bid is from Europe, from the home nations.”

The U.S. hosted the 1999 and 2003 Women’s World Cup.

Brazil will host the 2027 event featuring 32 teams.

FORMAL BIDS

Member associations must formally submit bids to FIFA in the final quarter of this year. The world governing body currently plans to confirm the Women’s World Cup hosts for 2031 and 2035 at the 76th FIFA Congress in the second quarter of next year.

“So, the path is there for the Women’s World Cup to be taking place in ’31 and ’35 in some great countries, in some great nations, to boost even more the women’s football movement,” Infantino said.

FIFA said last month that members associated with the Confederation of African Football and CONCACAF were eligible to bid for the 2031 World Cup, while CAF and UEFA member associations could bid for the 2035 tournament.

Reports had suggested Spain, Portugal and Morocco, who are jointly hosting the 2030 men’s World Cup, planned to launch a rival bid for 2035 before Infantino’s comment on Thursday that the UK had the only valid bid.

England’s women’s manager Sarina Wiegman said hosting the tournament will be a big boost to the women’s game.

“It’s the biggest female event we have in the world, that’s so exciting,” she told a press conference on Thursday.

“We know with the experience of the Euros (the women’s European Championships in 2022, which England won) how big the game is already here, and what that momentum did here in the country, but also worldwide.

“So another tournament, even on an even bigger stage, would be incredible, and that will give another boost to the game.”

Expanding to 48 teams will help, the Dutchwoman added on the eve of England’s Nations League game against Belgium.

“It will grow the game again in different countries, because different countries have opportunities to come, because countries are at different stages of their development,” she said. “So it will help empower women in football, women in sport and women in society.”

-Reuters

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Spain, Morocco, and Portugal are set to submit a joint bid to host the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Rafael Louzán announced at Madrid’s Rey Juan Carlos University.

“There is no better way to give visibility to women’s sports than by contributing to the world’s leading sporting event, the World Cup. We are working on this,” Louzán stated during the presentation of an Observatory on Equality.

The three countries are already collaborating to host the 2030 men’s World Cup, and this new initiative aims to strengthen their partnership in women’s football. The bid must be submitted by April 5, with detailed project proposals due one month later.

FIFA will decide the hosts for both the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups during its 76th Congress in the second quarter of 2026, marking the first time two tournaments will be assigned simultaneously.

Under FIFA’s regulations, confederations are restricted in their bidding options, with CAF and UEFA eligible for the 2035 edition.

The potential bid faces competition from a joint United Kingdom proposal involving England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

South Africa has also expressed interest in hosting either the 2031 or 2035 tournament, having withdrawn its candidacy for the 2027 edition, which was awarded to Brazil.

Spain’s national women’s team coach, Montse Tomé, welcomed the announcement: “It would be a great joy if Spain could be among the options to bring the Women’s World Cup to our country. Having experienced the 2019 World Cup in France, I’ve seen how it increased attention to our national team.”

The three bidding countries currently hold different positions in the FIFA rankings, with Spain coming in second place, Portugal ranking 22nd, and Morocco in 60th place.

The joint bid builds on Morocco’s growing presence in women’s football, following the national team’s first World Cup appearance in 2023, where Spain emerged as the tournament champions.

During the second quarter of 2025, FIFA will conduct workshops and working meetings to discuss requirements and initial concepts. Final bids must be submitted in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by evaluation processes including on-site inspection visits.

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