The United Kingdom is poised to host the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup after emerging as the only "valid" bidder for the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed.

England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland submitted a joint expression of interest in March, proposing to co-host the event across the home nations. Under FIFA's rotation policy, the 2035 tournament must be hosted in either Europe or Africa.

While Spain's football federation president Rafael Louzan recently indicated a potential joint bid with Portugal and Morocco, the official deadline for expressions of interest passed on Monday. According to Infantino, only the UK's bid met the criteria.

"Today I can confirm, as part of the bidding process, that we received one bid for 2031 and one valid bid for 2035," Infantino announced during a UEFA congress in Belgrade. "The 2031 bid is from the United States of America, potentially alongside other Concacaf members, and the 2035 bid comes from the home nations in Europe."

He added: "This paves the way for the Women's World Cup in 2031 and 2035 to take place in fantastic countries, further accelerating the growth of the women's game."

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham expressed pride in the UK's position. "We are honoured to be the sole bidder for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2035," he said. "The hard work starts now as we prepare to submit our formal bid by the end of the year."

Official bids for the 2035 tournament must be submitted this winter, with FIFA set to confirm the hosts through a vote at its 2026 congress.

Infantino also revealed that the 2031 Women's World Cup will expand to 48 teams, up from 32 in 2027.

If approved, the 2035 tournament would mark the second time a FIFA World Cup is held in the UK, following the 1966 men’s event hosted in England. Photo by U.S. Department of State, Wikimedia commons.