Belgium becomes new potential Women's World Cup host as interest reaches record levels

There will be 32 teams at the 2023 Women's World Cup and a record number of potential hosts has now declared interest.

The United States celebrate a goal in the Women's World Cup final

Belgium has become a record 10th potential bidder for the 2023 Women's World Cup, FIFA has announced.

The next finals will be expanded to 32 teams for the first time, with an unprecedented 10 member associations now officially considering staging the tournament.

Interest in hosting had already been confirmed by Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa, while there is also a joint bid from South Korea and North Korea on the table.

The deadline to join the bidding process was pushed back after FIFA confirmed an increase in teams taking part from 24 to 32.

Member associations now have until September 2 to inform FIFA if they wish to be entered into the bidding process.

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After that deadline, interested parties have three months to put together bid books, with May 2020 set as the expected date of the final announcement.

The United States won the 2019 tournament in France, beating Netherlands in the final to defend their title.

China, Canada, Germany, Sweden and USA are the other countries to have acted as Women's World Cup hosts.