Maracanã to Stage Opening Match and Final at 2027 Women’s World Cup

FIFA has chosen Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã to stage both the opening match and the final of the 2027 Women’s World Cup. According to reporting by The Guardian, host nation Brazil will play a Group A fixture there on June 24, while the tournament decider will take place at the same stadium on July 25.

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The governing body released the complete 64-match schedule on Thursday for a tournament featuring 32 national teams. The draw has not yet been held and is due later in 2026, after more of the qualification playoffs have been played, so most individual matchups remain undetermined.

São Paulo’s Arena Itaquera has been allocated 10 games, the largest total for any venue at the finals. Brazil are scheduled to play there during the group stage and will also have a group match at the Estádio Nacional in Brasília. The two semifinals will be divided between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, with São Paulo also selected for the bronze-medal match.

The knockout rounds will extend across the host cities. Belo Horizonte is set to stage one quarterfinal, and the team that wins Brazil’s Group A would be routed there if it reaches that stage. Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo will host the other three quarterfinals. Porto Alegre and Recife are also included among the tournament venues.

All eight stadiums selected for the Women’s World Cup were used during the 2014 men’s World Cup in Brazil, The Guardian reported. The 2027 event will be the first Women’s World Cup staged in South America. It will also be the competition’s 10th edition and the second played with a 32-team field, following the expansion used in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

The Maracanã’s assignment adds another major final to its history. The Rio venue hosted the men’s World Cup finals in 1950 and 2014, as well as the men’s and women’s Olympic football finals in 2016. It is now set to become the third stadium to host both men’s and women’s World Cup finals, after Sweden’s former Råsunda Stadium and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Spain will enter the tournament as defending champion after beating England in the 2023 final.