Man United, Wrexham and Birmingham yet-to-be-built stadiums lined up for 2035 Women’s World Cup

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United’s proposed new stadium has been named 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 Friday.

In total, 16 host cities have been included in the joint bid by the soccer federations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The U.K. was widely expected to be named host of the tournament, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino indicating in April there was just one “valid bid”. The United States made the only expression of interest to host in 2031.

United’s inclusion in the bid, having been left out of the U.K. and Ireland’s plans for the men’s 2028 European Championship, is evidence of the Premier League club’s confidence it will have completed what it describes as the “world’s greatest” soccer stadium in time for the tournament.

Costing around 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), United said earlier 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 is 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 further increase capacity before 2035, which would meet FIFA requirements.

Birmingham only unveiled plans last week for its new 62,000-seater 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 included 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. Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow will be host cities outside of England.

England hosted the men’s World Cup in 1966, the one time its national team has won the tournament.

The Women’s World Cup would follow the U.K. and Ireland’s joint-staging of the 2028 men’s Euros.

“Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup would be a huge privilege for our four home nations,” the federations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said in a joint statement. “If we are successful, the 2035 tournament will be the biggest single-sport event held on UK soil with 4.5 million tickets available for fans.”

England hosted the women’s Euros in 2022 and won the tournament. 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 UK,” said British prime minister Keir Starmer.

(corrects number of stadiums to 22 in para 11, not 21)

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer