Australia and New Zealand will host the 2023 Women\'s World Cup despite Colombia winning the backing of UEFA.
Australia and New Zealand had received public backing from the Asian Football Confederation, which has seven votes, and won support from all members of the council from the Confederation of African Football and Concacaf, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean.
UEFA explained its decision to back Colombia by saying: “Even though the Colombian bid was not the one rated highest technically by Fifa, European members of the Fifa council felt it represented a strategic opportunity for the development of women’s football in South America thanks to the legacy and increase of attention for the women’s game that the tournament would bring to the continent.
“It was a choice between two countries – Australia and New Zealand – where women’s football is already strongly established, and a continent where it still has to be firmly implanted and has a huge development potential. It’s important to add that European members of the Fifa council agreed to vote together on major issues as a matter of solidarity.”