Dylan Bettencourt
South Africa made history when hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup, becoming the first African nation to do so.
Now the country wants to do it all over again.
The South African Football Association (Safa) revealed that it would be bidding to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
If the bid is successful South Africa would be the first African nation to host the women’s showpiece.
“The National Executive Committee (NEC) has resolved that we must bid to host the World Cup for women in 2027,” Safa chief executive Tebogo Motlanthe told the BBC.
“We as [an] administration will duly inform Fifa and then start the process of hosting the World Cup.”
South Africa’s national women’s team Banyana Banyana became continental champions in July when they claimed the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) crown.
Standing in South Africa’s way are applications from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany who bid to host the 2027 event two years ago.
A bid between Denmark, Norway and Finland has also been put forward but the same trio also want to host the 2025 European Championship with the continental tournament possibly taking precedence.
The United States has also portrayed interest in possibly hosting the Women’s World Cup in 2027 or even in 2031.
The next Women’s World Cup is set for 2023 with New Zealand and Australia co-hosting the tournament, which will have 32 teams for the first time.
Women’s World Cups in the past only had 24 teams take part.
South Africa initially proposed hosting the 2023 World Cup but pulled out with the goal of first developing the national women’s league instead.
Banyana Banyana have only featured in one World Cup thus far, in 2019 where they were eliminated in the group stages.
They will however have another chance at progressing past the group stages when they take part in next year’s tournament.
Image source: @SAPeople
