The amount it will cost Bristol City Council remain private
13:35, 16 Oct 2025Updated 16:20, 16 Oct 2025
City councillors have unanimously backed a bid for Bristol to be a host city for the 2035 Women’s Football World Cup – despite concerns about how much it will cost the authority.
A report to the strategy and resources committee outlining the amount of money needed has been kept private from the public.
Early-stage group matches would be played at Ashton Gate stadium under the plans, but Bristol City Council would have to recruit a team to coordinate the operation after the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup proved “challenging” for existing staff.
Further costs would be needed if the bid is approved by world governing body Fifa because one requirement for host cities is to have a fanzone, which would be in Queen Square for up to 10,000 people.
Despite some reservations over the expense, councillors approved the bid after hearing that the tournament would be “bigger than the Olympics”, bring “enormous” economic benefits, and have a lasting legacy.
A report to the committee said: “At this stage, whilst the administration is supportive of the bid submission, focus will be on the costs Bristol City Council will be required to cover over and above government contribution.
“There is a projected cost for the council in order to meet the requirements of being a host city. The investment would cover infrastructure, event delivery, city branding, and associated operational costs.
“If Bristol was selected, there would need to be a funding strategy developed by the bid parties.”
But it added: “Being a host city for the early stages and with the fanzone open for the duration of the tournament will bring economic benefit to the city with increased footfall and spending within the city across the whole spectrum of the hospitality sector.
“Not progressing with the bid will mean Bristol will miss out on one of the largest sports tournaments in the world and certainly one that the UK has hosted.”
Council leader Cllr Tony Dyer (Green, Southville) told the meeting: “It is an opportunity and it will reinforce Bristol as being at the forefront of women’s sport.
“It’s a bigger tournament than any tournament that’s ever been held in this country before, including the Olympics.
“We can make no absolute guarantees, we don’t know what’s going to happen between now and 2035, but we are making investments elsewhere, looking into the Local Plan and Temple Quarter up to 2040 and beyond.
“So there is that element of having to make a decision without being 100 per cent certain that the outcome will be revenue positive.
“There have been assessments done on both the Men’s Football World Cup and the Olympics which have not come out positively.
“Montreal (hosting the Olympics) in 1976 is probably the one people know for which almost bankrupted the city.
“In this instance, though, we are looking at group games and an element of contribution that is not focused on holding the entire tournament. For the Olympics, everything is taking place in one city, so it places an additional burden.”
Cllr Tom Blenkinsop (Labour, Avonmouth & Lawrence Weston) said: “I know we can’t predict the future but I would suspect demand (for council services) will continue to increase, that there will be additional service pressures, that we will continue to face challenging economic circumstances no matter what the government does in terms of funding and how we proceed.
“Obviously we all hope for better economic growth and a better financial position, but it may be unwise to plan on it, especially with an investment of this size.
“That being said, most things aren’t more important than money, but some things are, which include supporting the Equality Act, supporting equality in sport, supporting the prestige of it, it’s something we should consider.
“I am in two minds because part of me is very much cold-blooded, very money-orientated, and the other part of me is saying we should do this, we should do this, it would be amazing.”
Cllr Patrick McAllister (Green, Hotwells & Harbourside) said: “I’m going to agree with Tom that the cold financial part of my brain is a bit nervous about the upfront investment the city will be expected to put into this.
“But given it is over a long timescale, the benefits would be enormous to the city. While I completely agree with Tom’s concerns over finances, this is worth going for. It’s really important we support women’s sport in this way.”
Cllr Ellie King (Labour, Hillifields) said: “It’s such a signal of intent to support women and girls in sport. That makes me very proud. We did a similar thing with the Eurovision bid.
“Seeing the former mayor (Marvin Rees) announcing at Pride that we were going to do the bid was such an unifying moment and there is an opportunity for this to do the same with women and girls in sport.
“This could do so much to empower working-class girls in Bristol. I’m really excited – I’m all in.”
As BristolLive revealed, the council spent a grand total of just £70.42 on the failed bid to host Eurovision in 2023.
Cllr Ani Townsend (Green, Central) said: “It’s been amazing to see the rugby and the cricket, particularly women’s sport being supported in our city.
“One of the many values of this will be getting visitors coming to Bristol seeing all the wonderful things we have here. The most important thing is being able to be part of supporting women’s sports.”
Ward Cllr Emily Clarke (Labour, Bedminster) said: “Bristol is the sports capital of the South West and we will soon see the development of Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter.
“There will be few places around the country more suitable to host the tournament than Ashton Gate. Bristol has been an amazing place for the women’s game and is the natural home for women’s sport in the South West.
“The economic benefits will far outweigh any costs of hosting it, as it will be a great boost to the hospitality and night-time economy sector in Bedminster, the city centre, and citywide. The social benefits will be felt for many years.”
The football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are submitting a joint bid to host the tournament and are the only ones in the running, so are highly likely to be successful.
Ashton Gate recently hosted quarter-finals and both semi-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.