England won't host the 2019 World Cup following Canada's 2015 edition. (©CanadaSoccer | Ville Vuorinen)
England has reportedly pulled out of the running to host the 2019 Women’s World Cup, citing fear of humiliation due to “strained” relations with FIFA.
The Times in London first reported the news (paywall article).
France, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea remain as nations with intent to bid on the 2019 tournament.
England lost the 2018 World Cup bid to Russia, and combined with the U.S. failing to win the 2022 bid over Qatar, there have been calls of corruption within FIFA. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati has made several public remarks regarding what he says was a corrupt bidding process, and the England’s role in the 2018 bidding process has also come into question.
In other news, South Africa has abandoned plans to host the 2016 U-20 Women’s World Cup in hopes of landing the 2019 senior edition. The U-20 and senior World Cups are to be awarded to the same nation in a given cycle, so South Africa Football Association president Danny Jordaan sees the move as a way to boost his federation’s bid for the 2018 U-20 Women’s World Cup and the 2019 senior edition.
“We have decided to give it back after the Fifa executive took a decision to link the Under-20 tournament and the senior World Cup finals,” he told South African media.
“The decision to link the two tournaments was taken after we were given the Under-20 World Cup. It is a similar arrangement to the Confederations Cup and the [men’s] World Cup.
