Hosting a World Cup, either men's or women's, is a huge honour for any country, and is also a brilliant opportunity for the country's national team to prove themselves on the international stage.
Backed by a passionate home crowd, being familiar with the conditions and not having to travel to the other side of the world means host nations tend to perform strongly at the World Cup.
In 2023, both host nations recorded firsts in front of their home fans, with Australia topping the group for the first time, whilst New Zealand achieved their first ever win at the Women's World Cup against Norway.
How many countries have been able to convert the advantage of hosting into crafting a winning run at the Women's World Cup? The Sporting News looks back at how host nations have fared in the nine editions of the tournament to date.
MORE: Which team is favourite to win the 2023 Women's World Cup?
Has a host nation ever won the Women's World Cup?
It may seem surprising, but there has only been one instance of a host nation winning the Women's World Cup, the USA in 1999.
The 1999 edition was a landmark moment for the Women's World Cup, having a record average attendance of over 37,000 still standing today, and at the time having the highest overall attendance record for the tournament at over 1.2 million.
The USA, who won the first ever tournament in 1991, made the final against China which was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in front of a World Cup record crowd of 90,185.
The match finished 0-0 after extra time, meaning the game had to be decided on penalty kicks, where Brandi Chastain scored the winning kick.
MORE: Which teams have qualified for 2023 World Cup Round of 16?
Host nation record at Women's World Cup
The USA's win on home soil in 1999 also represents the only time a host nation has reached the final of the Women's World Cup.
The USA also hosted the next tournament in 2003 after China pulled out, however the USWNT were bundled out in the semifinals and ended up finishing third, which is also the second best performance of a host nation at the tournament, with no other host nation before 2023 reaching the semifinals of the Women's World Cup.
Until 2023, every host nation managed to reach the quarterfinals, though until 2015 there was no Round of 16 stage at the tournament, meaning the quarterfinals was the first knockout round.
In 2015 and 2019, host nations Canada and France managed to win their Round of 16 matchups, before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
| Year | Host nation | Record (W-L-D) | Stage reached | Eliminated by | Tournament winners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | China | 2-1-1 | Quarterfinals | Sweden | USA |
| 1995 | Sweden | 2-2-0 | Quarterfinals | China | Norway |
| 1999 | USA | 6-0-0 | Final | — | USA |
| 2003 | USA | 5-1-0 | Semifinals | Germany | Germany |
| 2007 | China | 2-2-0 | Quarterfinals | Norway | Germany |
| 2011 | Germany | 3-1-0 | Quarterfinals | Japan | Japan |
| 2015 | Canada | 2-1-2 | Quarterfinals | England | USA |
| 2019 | France | 4-1-0 | Quarterfinals | USA | USA |
| 2023 | Australia | 2-1-0 | Round of 16 | TBC* | Still in progress |
| 2023 | New Zealand | 1-1-1 | Group Stage | Switzerland, Norway | Still in progress |
*Denotes team still active in tournament as of August 3
Who is hosting the 2027 Women's World Cup?
There has been no official announcement of the host nation for the next edition of the Women's World Cup, which will take place in 2027.
There are currently four different bids that have expressed interest in holding the competition, with two standalone bids, and two bids featuring co-hosting arrangements similar to what has been seen with Australia and New Zealand for this tournament.
Brazil and South Africa have each expressed their intent to bid to host the World Cup, with each country hosting the men's World Cup in 1950 and 2014 for Brazil, and in 2010 for South Africa.
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have also created a joint bid to host the tournament, whilst the USA and Mexico, who are co-hosting the 2026 men's World Cup alongside Canada, have also pledged a co-hosting bid for the 2027 tournament.
The hosts for the 2027 Women's World Cup will be named on May 17, 2024 at the meeting of the FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
