Tracing FIFA’s “flagship women’s competition” and its use of legacy from 1991 to 2023

This chapter examines how legacy emerged as a prominent theme throughout the competitive bid process for the 2023 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Women's World Cup (FWWC). The bid process for this event –the most recent FIFA Women's World Cup award – required all potential (co-)hosts to submit preliminary legacy proposals as part of their official bids. All nations bidding to (co-)host the event were evaluated by FIFA on their women's football development strategies and post-tournament legacy programs, including not only how such strategies might raise the profile of women's football in their respective regions but how they might contribute to improving opportunities for women in society more broadly. Despite the centrality of legacy to recent bid processes, in this chapter we explore how this has not always been the case. As we illustrate, the importance of legacy in FWWC bidding and evaluation is a relatively new phenomenon.