The iconic Maracanã centre stage of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup

This was confirmed by FIFA yesterday during the draw of the playoff’s tournament for the Women’s World Cup preliminary stage. 

Banyana Banyana’s second chance to qualify for the tournament has seen them drawn against the highly ranked Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan and Ecuador for the playoffs, which will take place in November this year. 

FIFA Chief of Women’s Football, Sarai Bareman, is excited by the Maracana hosting Women’s World Cup clashes...

"That opening match in Brazil at the famous Maracana, with the Brazil team kicking off, that is going to be an absolute goosebumps moment. From a personal level I will probably be crying knowing how big that moment will be for women's football. There's nothing better that can change someone's opinion on women's football than a full Maracana stadium during a World Cup match." 

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The other two teams in the preliminary stage playoffs are Ghana and Papua New Guinea. The two teams that finish in the top two will proceed to the final phase of the playoffs, set to take place in Brazil next year in February. 

Maracanã has hosted World Cup finals in 1950 and 2014, and Bareman believes that next year’s tournament will be equally as special.

The final phase of the playoffs will have two teams from the CONCACAF region, Venezuela (CONMEBOL) and a team from UEFA, plus the two teams from the preliminary stage, where Banyana Banyana might be one of the qualifiers. 

Banyana Banyana will be hoping to be one of the 32 teams at next year’s Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted across eight host cities, namely Brasília, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Ellis says the coaches of the qualified teams can start to plan, now that the match schedule is out...

"This is the exciting part for a coach because you can start to lock in now that the schedule has been released, and one can also begin to study opponents and work out potential pathways. The stage is set for the biggest Women's World Cup ever."