Elland Road included as Women’s World Cup bid kicks off

The home of Leeds United is one of 22 stadiums named in a combined bid by the four UK football associations to host the 2035 football tournament.

The UK joint bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 has been submitted today, with Elland Road – lined up for a substantial redevelopment by owner 49ers Enterprises that could take capacity to 53,000 – among the list, which is made up of 16 English grounds, three in Wales, two in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland.

Along with rivals, the UK bid will now be assessed by global governing body FIFA before the hosting decision for the tournament is announced in April 2026.

Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture Cllr Salma Arif said: “It is really exciting that the formal bid for the United Kingdom to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 has been submitted, and that if the bid is successful Leeds and Elland Road has been selected as one of the potential locations and venues to stage matches.

“Staging major international football on the biggest stage in the world would further showcase Leeds as a city and Elland Road as a venue on a global scale, so along with our partners we wish the bid the very best of luck and look forward to hearing if it has been successful in April with fingers very firmly crossed.”

There could be other things up for grabs: the tournament is due to be contested by 48 teams across 104 matches over 39 days, with those 48 teams all requiring base camp training sites – that’s along with 82 venue-specific training sites. In addition, 32 FIFA “fan festival” sites are proposed.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “I’d be thrilled to welcome the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 to West Yorkshire. It would be a chance to showcase our proud sporting heritage, boost our local economy, and inspire the next generation of women and girls to get into sport.

“We’re ready to celebrate the beautiful game and build a legacy that will benefit our communities for years to come. Bring it on.”

Elland Road has hosted tournament football before, in the men’s Euro 96 competition, but is likely to be a substantially enhanced venue by the time 2035 rolls around, should the UK be successful or not.

Leeds United’s chief business officer Morrie Eisenberg said: “We are thrilled at the prospect of bringing the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 matches to Elland Road, which would be fantastic for both the club and the city.

“As part of our vision to enhance Elland Road, which would put it amongst the elite stadia in Europe, we want to host Premier League football and world-class events, and this is an amazing opportunity to do so.

“The women’s game has enjoyed huge growth over the past decade, which will only continue over the coming years and we want Elland Road to be part of that legacy, this is another example of the city and club coming together to drive positive impact for the Leeds community.”