The expansion from 32 to 48 teams for the FIFA Women’s World Cup has been confirmed as starting from the 2031 edition.
There will be a dozen groups of four teams, with the top two progressing along with the eight best third-placed nations to a new round of 32.
The total number of games played will increase from 64 to 104, and the number of games played by teams reaching the final four will increase from seven to eight. The format will be the same as the one used in the men’s World Cup from 2026.
The allocation of slots below was announced by the FIFA Council in April 2025. The slot for the host nation will be taken directly from the quotas allocated to their confederation.
- AFC (Asia): 8 slots
- CAF (Africa): 7 slots
- CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean): 5 slots (including hosts United States)
- CONMEBOL (South America): 4 slots
- OFC (Oceania): 1 slot
- UEFA (Europe): 20 slots
- Inter-confederation play-off tournament: 3 slots
A twelve-team play-off tournament will decide the final three spots at the Women’s World Cup. The play-off slot allocation is as follows:
- AFC (Asia): 2 slots
- CAF (Africa): 2 slots
- CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean): 3 slots*
- CONMEBOL (South America): 2 slots
- OFC (Oceania): 1 slot
- UEFA (Europe): 2 slots
*1 additional play-off place is allocated to the confederation hosting the final tournament.
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are set to be tournament joint hosts for 2035.