# South Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid

The South Africa bid for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup was a bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup by South African Football Association (SAFA). The single bid was announced on 20 September 2022. The bid entailed 10 venues (8 used in 2010 FIFA World Cup) in 9 host cities. On November 24, 2023, SAFA announced that they have withdrawn their bid and will instead focus on submitting a bid for the 2031 tournament.

## Background

Motivated by the success of the country's recent participation in FIFA women's tournaments, the South African Football Association (SAFA) previously submitted a bid for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, but withdrew its bid in December 2019. SAFA CEO Hay Mokoena stated that South Africa would consider bidding for 2027 after the women's league and national team become more competitive.
South Africa has hosted the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup and could use the infrastructure that was built for the tournament. In September 2022, South Africa announced its bid to host the 2027 women's edition. A successful bid would be Africa's first time hosting the Women's World Cup.

## Proposed venues

On 13 June 2023, the South African Football Association announced the ten stadiums selected for its bid. Eight out of the ten stadiums used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup would be in use for the tournament; of those ten, Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld were not selected, while Orlando Stadium and Griqua Park were added to the bid.
    † denotes stadium used for 2010 FIFA World Cup
| Johannesburg | Johannesburg | Cape Town | Durban |
| FNB Stadium† | Orlando Stadium | DHL Stadium† | Moses Mabhida Stadium† |
| Capacity: 84,490 | Capacity: 37,139 | Capacity: 64,100 | Capacity: 62,760 |
| Port Elizabeth | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) |
| Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium† | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) |
| Capacity: 42,486 | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) | JohannesburgDurbanCape TownKimberleyPort ElizabethBloemfonteinPolokwaneRustenburg  NelspruitSouth Africa 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup bid (South Africa) |
| Rustenburg | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium |
| Royal Bafokeng Stadium† | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium |
| Capacity: 42,000 | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium | Stadiums in JohannesburgSoccer CityOrlando Stadium |
| Polokwane | Nelspruit | Bloemfontein | Kimberley |
| Peter Mokaba Stadium† | Mbombela Stadium† | Free State Stadium† | Griqua Park |
| Capacity: 41,733 | Capacity: 40,929 | Capacity: 40,911 | Capacity: 11,000 |

## Concerns

After violence and gunshots during the 2022–23 SAFA Second Division playoffs, SAFA expressed concern about the impact of the violence on the bid.