Football (F): FIFA unveils the eight stadiums for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil

The 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil will be held in eight stadiums, including the iconic Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, FIFA announced Wednesday. The eight cities selected from a list of 12 candidates are Rio, São Paulo, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Fortaleza, and Recife. All of these venues were previously used for the 2014 Men's World Cup. At that time, the Maracana hosted the final, which Germany won over Argentina. Belo Horizonte's Estadio Mineirao, meanwhile, was the site of the host country's historic rout, crushed 7-1 by the Germans in the semifinals.

The 2027 World Cup will be the second edition to feature 32 teams for the women's tournament, as was the case for the men's tournament from 1998 to 2022. The next men's World Cup will be contested next year by 48 teams and in 16 stadiums in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The United States and Germany dominate the Women's World Cup record, with four titles each in nine editions.

Without "Queen" Marta , Brazil will hope to use the support of their fans to add their name to this list of achievements, having lost in the final to the Germans in 2007. Widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, Marta, 39, announced her international retirement last year, after winning her third Olympic silver medal in Paris. The Seleçao were defeated in the final by the United States, as they were at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Marta still holds the record for goals in both men's and women's World Cups, with 17, one more than Germany's Miroslav Klose. Brazil also hopes to use next year's World Cup to boost the popularity of women's football in the country, where it was banned for decades. From 1941 to 1979, a decree banned women from participating in "sports incompatible with the conditions of their nature." Today, the Brazilian women's football league is attracting growing numbers of fans, but the wage gap with men remains enormous, as it does in the rest of the world.