MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United's proposed new stadium has been offered as a venue for the 2035 Women's World Cup.
A redeveloped Wrexham Racecourse Ground and Birmingham's yet-to-be-built Powerhouse Stadium have also been included in the United Kingdom's official bid, announced on Friday.
In total 16 host cities are in in the joint bid by the soccer federations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The U.K. was widely expected to be named the host; FIFA president Gianni Infantino indicated in April there was just one “valid bid.” The United States made the only expression of interest to host in 2031.
Man United's inclusion, after being left out of the U.K.'s and Ireland's plans for the men's 2028 European Championship, was evidence of the Premier League club's confidence it will have completed the stadium in time at a cost of about 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion).
United said this year it could be ready by the 2030-31 season.
The U.K. bid said the intention was for the new stadium to be considered for FIFA’s consideration “once plans are confirmed.”
Wrexham was in the process of redeveloping its stadium and increasing capacity to 18,000. The U.K. bid said the club, which has gained worldwide appeal since being bought by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is planning to increase capacity again before 2035, which would meet FIFA requirements.
Birmingham unveiled plans last week for its new 62,000-seat stadium, which it believes could be built by 2030.
Chelsea has also been included despite the U.K. bid saying its Stamford Bridge stadium does not meet FIFA’s technical specifications. Whether it is in the final plans is dependent on the venue being redeveloped or a new ground being built.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Everton are among 22 stadiums listed. Outside of England the host cities were Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The 2025 Women's World Cup would follow the U.K.'s and Ireland's joint staging of the men's Euro 2028.
“If we are successful, the 2035 tournament will be the biggest single sport event held on U.K. soil with 4.5 million tickets available for fans,” England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said in a joint statement.
England hosted the men's 1966 World Cup and women's Euro 2022 and won both. The Lionesses retained the trophy this year.
“The Lionesses’ success has inspired girls across our country, and we’ll build on that momentum by welcoming millions of football fans from around the world to a tournament that will benefit communities and businesses in host cities up and down the U.K.," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
We're excited to announce our India Community Travel in Spring 2026! Join this virtual Zoom … Read moreTravel to India Information Session (Online)
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Cathy Baird said:
Root beer gulag. But it’s Friday. I assumed the DJ didn’t publish yesterday.
markolbert said:
Root beer gulag. Diet root beer gulag. Sasparilla prison. Oops that didn’t autocorrect.
Mark Simon said:
And thanks for all your efforts raising the profile of th e DJ.
Mark Simon said:
Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving.
Mark Simon said:
Thanks you so much. Happy Thanksgiving.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.