Eight stadiums across Brazil will host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with all the venues having previously staged matches at the 2014 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
The tournament, scheduled for June 24 to July 25, 2027, will be the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in South America.
The eight venues are the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Estádio Nacional in Brasília, Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Arena Castelão in Fortaleza, Estádio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre, Arena Itaquera in São Paulo, Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador and Arena de Pernambuco in Recife, FIFA aanounced on Friday.
The Maracanã will have a particularly prominent role, hosting the opening match involving Brazil on June 24 as well as the final on July 25.
The iconic Rio de Janeiro stadium will also stage a quarter-final and a semi-final, while São Paulo’s Arena Itaquera will host a quarter-final, a semi-final and the third-place match.
The eight host cities will collectively stage all 64 matches of the 32-team tournament, with each city scheduled to host at least seven games and at least one knockout-stage fixture.
Brasília, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador will host matches through the round of 16, while Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza will also stage quarter-final fixtures.
For Nigerian football followers, the Estádio Beira-Rio carries a familiar World Cup memory.
The Porto Alegre stadium hosted Nigeria’s 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the group stage of the 2014 Men’s World Cup.
FIFA’s venue history lists the match among the five games played at Beira-Rio during that tournament.
The same stadium will now welcome the world’s leading women’s national teams when Brazil stages the 2027 tournament.
The Maracanã also has a significant World Cup history. It hosted the 2014 men’s final between Germany and Argentina and will now become only the third stadium to host both a men’s FIFA World Cup final and a Women’s World Cup final, after Råsunda Stadium in Sweden and the Rose Bowl in the United States.
2014 memories
Several of the other venues also have notable 2014 memories.
Mineirão hosted the 2014 semi-final in which Germany defeated hosts Brazil 7-1, while Arena Castelão staged Brazil’s quarter-final victory over Colombia.
Arena Fonte Nova hosted six matches during the 2014 tournament, including Spain’s 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands, while Arena Pernambuco hosted five matches.
Estádio Nacional in Brasília staged seven matches at the 2014 World Cup, including the third-place play-off between Brazil and the Netherlands.
Arena Itaquera, meanwhile, hosted the 2014 opening match between Brazil and Croatia and a semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands.
The venues will now form the backdrop for the 10th edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup as Brazil prepares to welcome 32 teams from the six confederations.
The tournament will also give the host country an opportunity to showcase women’s football across eight cities, with the competition culminating at the historic Maracanã.
Meanwhile, the Super Falcons will not be at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil because they failed to secure one of Africa’s direct qualification places at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, losing 2–1 to South Africa in the play-off for the remaining African World Cup qualification route.
Of the 12 stadiums used during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, four were not selected for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. They are Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá, Arena da Amazônia in Manaus, Arena das Dunas in Natal and Arena da Baixada in Curitiba.
