Football Australia sets sights on hosting 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and 2034 FIFA World Cup

The Women’s World Cup is just the beginning for Football Australia, with its CEO revealing plans to host three other major tournaments.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup still has two weeks to go but Football Australia is already looking ahead with CEO James Johnson revealing he hopes to hold the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on home soil in 2026 and the Men’s World Cup in 2034.

Johnson, speaking exclusively to CODE Sports, said Football Australia had already lodged a bid and expression of interest for the Asian Cup – with the next step dependent on $45 million of joint funding from the federal and state governments.

“We need funding to be locked in so that we can prepare ourselves for that bid,” Johnson said.

“If we do get the support from the federal and state governments I am confident that we’ll win that bid and that means that we’ll have the Women’s Asian Cup here in January 2026.”

Johnson is confident the FA can secure the almost $50M of funding needed to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026. Picture: Richard Walker

With the Brisbane 2032 Olympics chewing up huge amounts of Queensland’s budget and the Victorian Government withdrawing from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to the predicted cost blow out- the majority share of the funds may have to come from the Federal Government’s wallet.

While a timeline hasn’t been confirmed Johnson expected a decision on the hosts to be made by the end of the year.

It isn’t the only major tournament Football Australia have their eyes on with plans also in the making to submit bids for the 2029 Club World Cup (a new competition launching in 2025) and the 2034 Men’s World Cup.

More funding will obviously also be needed for those two major events but so will more infrastructure – particularly rectangular stadiums.

Australia will need to develop more rectangular stadiums if it hopes to host future tournaments. Picture: Maddie Meyer – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

The FIFA bid evaluation report estimated the cost of running the current FIFA Women’s World Cup was $150 million – with $100 million coming from governments.

It reportedly cost Brazil $19.7 billion to host the Men’s World Cup in 2014, and South Africa $7.2 billion in 2010. Germany had a tighter budget, most likely due to more existing infrastructure – delivering the tournament at $5.2 billion.

But with the tournament expanding Johnson said the cost wouldn’t need to be covered by just one country.

“There’s 48 teams now (in the Men’s World Cup),” Johnson said.

“Which means it is very difficult for one country to host on its own … so we’d need to co-host obviously.

“We have a very long standing relationship with New Zealand, we’ve co-hosted this Women’s World Cup, so it could be Australia, New Zealand and another country in Asia – they are all part of the strategy.

“The main thing from a tournament perspective is if you want big matches and I’m talking finals and semi finals, you need rectangular stadiums.”

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, where Australia and Canada met in their final Group B match has a capacity of 30,000. Picture: Mark Stewart

Winning any of these bids would continue to grow the sport in Australia but Johnson said the flow-on effects were numerous.

“It’s good for the economy, it’s good from a jobs point of view, it’s good for tourism, it’s good for the brand of our country and showcasing what a great country we are,” Johnson said.

“We’ve had the three years leading into the Women’s World Cup – which is a very big deal for Australia but also the rest of the world. If we’re able to host the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup that just extends that period.

“It means we will see the Matildas’ on local shores more often … It would extend this period that we’ve got top tier women’s football content.”

Originally published as Football Australia sets sights on hosting 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and 2034 FIFA World Cup