Today, Thursday, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) revealed the schedule of matches for the “2027 Women’s World Cup”, confirming the dates and stadiums of all 64 matches of the tournament, which will be hosted by eight Brazilian cities.
The tournament will begin on Thursday, June 24, 2027, with the host Brazilian team starting its campaign at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, before playing its second match in the group stage in front of its fans in São Paulo on June 29, then its third match in Brasilia on July 4.
Each of the eight cities participating in the tournament will host at least 7 matches. Including at least one match in the playoffs. Matches up to the round of 16 will be held in Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador, while Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza, along with Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, will host quarter-final matches.
Sao Paulo will host one of the two semi-final matches, in addition to the third-place match, while the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro will host the other semi-final match, before the historic stadium returns to host the final match.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “We are very much looking forward to watching a new chapter in the history of women’s football being written before our eyes, when the best players, coaches, trainers, fans and local communities take center stage in Brazil next year.”
The official FIFA website quoted Infantino as saying: “I am filled with excitement from now just thinking about the passion, colors and amazing energy that the Brazilian fans will bring to the tournament, as they welcome the world to 8 vibrant host cities.”
FIFA confirmed that preparing the match schedule took into account achieving sporting justice among the 32 teams, taking into account travel distances and recovery periods between matches, in addition to providing the opportunity for fans in various parts of Brazil to follow the tournament’s competitions.
The Maracana will become the third stadium in history to host the men's World Cup final and the women's World Cup final, after Rasunda Stadium in the Swedish city of Solna, which hosted the 1958 and 1995 finals, and the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena in the United States, which hosted the 1994 and 1999 finals.
Liverpool captain, Dutchman Virgil van Dijk, raised the flag of challenge in the face of his team to correct its “unacceptable” performance last season.
The Reds finished the season in a disappointing fifth place in the English Football League, and failed to win any title in a disappointing season that ended with the dismissal of Dutch coach Arne Slot.
Just a year after they won the league title, the 20-time champions lost 19 out of 56 matches they played in all competitions, including 12 out of 38 in the league, that is, only one match less than they lost in the total of the previous three seasons.
The six-time Champions League champion was unable to pass the quarter-finals of this competition, and left in the same round in the FA Cup. He also exited the League Cup in the quarter-finals.
The English giant's situation worsened after Slot's relationship with Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah deteriorated, as the "Pharaohs" national team legend claimed that he had then become a scapegoat to justify Liverpool's troubles.
The defender, who won the European Player of the Year award in 2019, now wants his teammates to erase the bitter memory of last season with a more successful path.
He said: “Last year was unacceptable. “This year we have a chance to correct that.”
He added: “We all realize how difficult this will be, but if you are not prepared for this challenge, you are not in the right place.”
He continued: “What I feel now is that everyone is ready for the challenge. Let's see how we handle it. "I'm really looking forward to this season, and I don't think we have anything to prove to anyone."
He added: “We must show how much we care, and how much we want to fight for this slogan, and also realize how privileged we are to play for Liverpool.”
A contract was concluded with the former Spanish coach of Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola, to restore the high-paced football (pressure) that disappeared during the Slot era.
Salah, French defender Ibrahima Konate, and Scottish Andy Robertson have all left Anfield since the end of last season, while Englishman Curtis Jones is on his way to join Italian Inter Milan.
Spanish winger Victor Muñoz and Rennes' French defender Jeremy Jacquet joined the team, while Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo came from Barcelona on loan.
After Iraola said, during the preparatory period, that the players’ physical fitness only allowed them to run for 30 minutes of the match, Van Dijk acknowledged that Liverpool must find a way to avoid the series of injuries that burdened them last season.
Van Dijk hopes that Iraola will be able to make Liverpool play with more enthusiasm and ambition compared to Slot’s “ill-fated” second season.
He said: “If you look at Bournemouth last year, I think they were very impressive. “If we keep working, believing and showing our quality, we can follow in their footsteps.”
He continued: “We need everyone to be in good physical condition.” We need a squad capable of competing on all four fronts, and this is the only way to try to achieve success.”
He concluded: “Let’s see what the last few weeks of the transfer market bring, then let’s move forward.”
With FIFA President Gianni Infantino facing the biggest challenge to his leadership yet, following the collapse of his plan to sell minority stakes in the World Cup to private investors, an important question arises: Could a vote of no confidence remove him from office before next year’s elections?
The following is the mechanism of no confidence in accordance with the FIFA statute.
Who has the right to demand a vote of no confidence?
The FIFA Statutes stipulate that if 20 percent of the 211 member federations - that is, no less than 43 federations - submit a written request, the FIFA Council becomes obligated to call for an extraordinary general assembly. Therefore, no single national federation alone can demand such a vote, and an extraordinary general assembly must be held within 3 months of receipt of the request, and its agenda may not be amended after its adoption.
The European Football Association (UEFA) can theoretically launch this step on its own, as it includes 55 member associations, as well as the Asian Football Confederation, which includes 47 associations.
The two federations have already cooperated with the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) in criticizing Infantino's handling of the crisis, and giving him an opportunity to step down.
Who decides Infantino's fate?
Once the extraordinary conference is called, each member union gets one vote, and the right to vote is limited to the unions present at the conference, as voting by proxy or by mail is not permitted, and voting must be in person.
How many votes are needed to eliminate Infantino?
Although FIFA regulations specify the majority required to win the presidential elections according to the number of candidates, they do not explicitly stipulate the majority necessary to approve a vote of no confidence.
However, the statute stipulates that “unless a contrary provision is contained in the statute, a simple majority, that is, more than 50 percent of the valid votes, is sufficient to approve the elections, voting processes, and other decisions.”
What happens if Infantino is fired?
The FIFA Statutes stipulate that “if the President becomes permanently or temporarily unable to perform his official duties, his powers and responsibilities shall be assumed by the most senior Vice-President serving until the next Congress.”
The text adds: “The conference shall elect a new president if necessary.” Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation, is the longest-serving member of the FIFA Council among the eight Vice-Presidents, which makes him the most prominent candidate to assume duties temporarily in such a scenario.
Has FIFA ever witnessed a vote of no confidence?
There is no known precedent in which the FIFA conference witnessed an official vote of no confidence in a sitting president. However, the idea was proposed in 2001, when Swiss Joseph Blatter faced increasing pressure following the collapse of ISL, FIFA’s marketing partner, and mounting concerns about governance within the international federation.
At that time, Lennart Johansson, the then president of UEFA, hinted at the possibility of putting forward a motion of no confidence, and Blatter was subjected to intense interrogation during an extraordinary meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee, but the matter did not reach the stage of an official vote, and Blatter succeeded in overcoming the crisis.
Calls for a no-confidence vote were renewed in 2002 during a dispute involving then FIFA Secretary-General Michel Zen-Ruvinen, but those attempts also ended without reaching a conference to vote on the removal of the president.
