Between June 24 and July 25, 2027, the 10th edition of the Women's World Cup will be held in eight Brazilian cities. The FIFA tournament has been played since 1991, and the cup has passed through the hands of the Americans four times; from the Germans, on two occasions; and the Norwegian, Japanese and Spanish women, once each.
Now, playing at home, the Brazilian team, led by coach Arthur Elias, wants to get their hands on the cup and take it to the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
This Thursday, the Women's World Cup trophy was on display at the entity's headquarters, in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Created by Lebanese designer William Sawaya to be given to the champions from the 1999 World Cup onwards, the trophy is 47 centimeters high, weighs four and a half kilos and is made of 23-carat gold-plated bronze. The name of the tournament's winning countries is engraved on the granite base.
Unlike the men's World Cup cup, ownership of which has been temporary since the 1974 World Cup, the women's cup is definitively handed over to the champion confederation, and a new piece is produced for the following edition, along the same lines.
The cup had already passed through Recife, on October 13th, when the friendly match between the women's teams from Brazil and Argentina was held at the Arena de Pernambuco. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. On that occasion, as a rare and highly coveted object, the trophy went through a photo session on the streets of Recife Antigo, accompanied not only by photographers and cameramen, but also by numerous security guards, in charge of preventing the recordings made by tourists and curious pedestrians.
The 2027 World Cup will bring together 32 teams. So far, 17 have already secured classification, in addition to Brazil, the host country. For Oceania, Australia and New Zealand are guaranteed. On the Asian continent, China, North Korea, South Korea, the Philippines and Japan are already classified. In Europe, Germany, Denmark, Spain and France already have their passports released. In South America, Argentina and Colombia secured their places. On the African continent, Algeria, Cameroon, Malawi and Morocco also ensured their presence. There are, therefore, 14 vacancies up for grabs.
The draw for the eight groups in the first phase of the World Cup will take place on December 11th, at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro.
The extraordinary secretary for the 2027 World Cup of the Ministry of Sports, Juliana Agatte, present at the event, highlighted the economy of this edition of the World Cup and stated that "this is a competition in which there is no need to create an entire infrastructure, because Brazil already has the legacy left by the 2014 Men's World Cup".
Former player Aline Pellegrino, runner-up in the world championship with the Brazilian team in 2007 and current executive director of legacy for the 2027 World Cup, believes that, "regardless of the final result, the competition will serve to ingrain the feeling of women's football in the country" and that both the organizers and the athletes have a very big responsibility ahead of them.
Gal Barradas, executive director of revenue and marketing for the 2027 World Cup, recalled that "the sport, just over 40 years ago, was still banned in Brazil (and only since April 17, 1983 was it officially regulated) and, six years ago, women's games were not even shown regularly on TV. Now, there is a great demand and entire families go to the stadiums to watch the football they play."
The coveted cup returns to FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, later this week. Brazilians hope that, after the final at Maracanã, scheduled for July 25, 2027, the trophy will remain in the country. For this, it is enough for the Brazilian team to win the title.
