FIFA President Gianni Infantino has encouraged North and Central American and Caribbean FIFA Member Associations (MAs) to continue their efforts in developing women’s football ahead of a potential bid from the Concacaf region to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2031™. Based on the principle that FIFA tournaments are hosted by one of the six confederations on a rotating basis, the decision from the FIFA Council meeting on 5 March 2025 determined that MAs within Concacaf and CAF are eligible to bid to stage what could be the most inclusive women’s global showpiece yet in six years’ time.

“At the last FIFA Council, we took some very important decisions about women’s football, and the first message is that we have to continue boosting women’s football, because it is growing [at] an immense speed,” said the FIFA President in a speech to the 40th Concacaf Congress in St Lucia. “You remember 2027 is in Brazil, 2031 could be, of course, in this region. Concacaf is entitled to a bid for this (FIFA Women's) World Cup. It would be a fantastic World Cup. And there, yes, we are discussing seriously whether we should increase the number of participating national teams from 32 to 48, as of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2031. So, it is very important to continue to boost women’s football, and my thanks to all of you for what you are doing every day to develop and boost the women’s game. It is so, so important.” Mr Infantino thanked the outgoing FIFA Council members from the region, Luis Hernández (Cuba) and Yon de Luisa (Mexico), for their work, and Saint Lucia Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, and Saint Lucia Football Association President, Lyndon Cooper, for their hospitality. He also welcomed new FIFA Council Members Cindy Parlow Cone (United States) and Randy Harris (Barbados), and thanked returning member, Sonia Fulford (Turks & Caicos Islands). He also praised Concacaf’s 35 FIFA MAs for their collaboration with world football’s governing body in contributing to football development in the region through the FIFA Forward programme. During the initiative’s third phase through to 2027, each MA is eligible to receive up to USD 8 million for operational costs and development projects – some seven times more than when FIFA Forward was launched in 2016 – and earlier this month deadlines for applications were extended to give MAs more opportunities to receive funding.

“You can see that you are really a united group. And the unity is what makes you strong and what’s makes us all strong. Thanks to this unity, we have been able, at FIFA as well, to achieve incredible results,” said the FIFA President. “And thanks to your feedback, we have been able to amend the Forward regulations, to take into account the specificities of this region, because we are listening to you, and we want football to develop everywhere, with a fair and correct procedure. And that’s why we have been listening to you. You came in a united way, you discussed. We listened, we amended. And the FIFA Council, last week, decided, indeed, to implement these changes, which will, again, help you to grow the game in a significant way all over the Concacaf region.” Other FIFA programmes have had an impact too. The FIFA Talent Development Scheme, which aims to give every young talent a path to the professional game, has provided funding to 32 Concacaf MAs, and nine FIFA Talent Academies have already been established in the region with more expected in the near future. Twenty-three MAs in the Concacaf region have also joined the FIFA Football for Schools programme, which teaches life skills as well as football skills to thousands of young girls and boys in local education systems.

Mr Infantino said the flagship tournaments coming to the region in the next 18 months, namely the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in the United States and the FIFA World Cup 26™ co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US, would serve as a major catalyst to the game’s development across FIFA’s Concacaf MAs. In addition to the three co-hosts, there will be three – and could be up to five – other members competing at the 48-team FIFA World Cup 26. Ahead of the deadline for clubs to name their final squads, Mr Infantino also noted that 97 players from Concacaf are expected to feature at the FIFA Club World Cup this year. Calling the tournament “a true game-changer,” he added that eight of the region’s MAs would be represented in addition to the five clubs from Mexico and the United States who are among the 32 elite sides bidding to be crowned the first official FIFA club world champion.

“This is important. Why? Because this again shows the strength of Concacaf and the growth of Concacaf, but it shows as well that a global stage is given to players from countries which usually don’t have the opportunity to qualify for a (FIFA) World Cup,” said Mr Infantino, who praised the leadership of Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani. “It took almost 100 years of national team (FIFA) World Cup to have 11 countries of Concacaf participating. Now, in the first edition of the (FIFA) Club World Cup, we will have eight countries participating, so we are developing the game. It is happening here in this part of the world. This will impact, of course, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and it will impact the entire world.”