US rivals England for World Cup

Any bid made by England to host the men’s World Cup in 2031 is likely to face competition from a super-sized United States proposal that aims to sell out NFL stadiums and have 50,000 fans at all 48 matches.

The US formally launched its bid to host both the men’s World Cup in 2027 or 2031 – as well as the women’s tournament in 2029 – yesterday in Washington.

A total of 28 cities, including Vancouver in Canada, expressed interest in holding fixtures across both tournaments, and NFL franchises such as the San Francisco 49ers, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, are backing the bid, which has been funded and resourced by private investment.

With Australia seemingly in pole position to host the men’s World Cup in 2027, it is the US’S preference to bid for the men’s tournament in 2031. Just last month, RFU chairman Tom Ilube confirmed that England would also be keen to host the tournament that year.

But the prospect of using – and filling – NFL venues would tie together a formidable package for both a men’s tournament in 2031 and a women’s one two years earlier.

“The idea is that we have at least 50,000 spectators, if not more, at all 48 games [of the men’s tournament],” said Jim Brown, the chair of the US bid. “We expect to fill those stadiums. There is an opportunity to use a 35,000-seat stadium in San Diego, but we feel confident that the NFL stadiums would be the model for all World Cup games.

“The idea for the women’s tournament in 2029 is to use large stadiums for four to six, maybe up to eight games. Of the 32 games for that event, we would expect 24 to be staged at MLS [Major League Soccer] stadiums.”

World Rugby’s deadline for official proposals is in January.