Brazil withdraws bid to host 2023 Women's World Cup

Brazil has withdrawn its bid to host the Women's World Cup in 2023, as the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro reportedly told FIFA it could not offer financial guarantees "due to the scenario of fiscal and economic austerity, caused by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic."

“In view of the exceptional times experienced by the country and the world, CBF understands the cautious position of the Brazilian government, and of other public and private partners, which prevented them from formalising the commitments within the time or in the required manner,” the Brazilian Football Confederation said in an official statement.

In the statement, the CBF said that it plans to support Columbia's bid against Japan and the joint-candidacy of Australia and New Zealand. The winning bid will be decided by the FIFA council on June 25.

Brazil has been highly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, with more than 35,000 deaths and 640,000 confirmed cases. While the coronavirus is the leading cause of Brazil's withdrawal, the CBF also noted that the high number of big sporting events hosted by Brazil over the last decade would likely hurt the country's chances.

Brazil has faced a massive economic downturn due to COVID-19, as Alberto Ramos, a Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs, has forecast that the country's economy will shrink by 7.6% this year.

"We expect Brazil to experience a sharp contraction of activity in 2020, concentrated in the first half of 2020, which is likely to lead to a significant further deterioration of the already weak labour market," Ramos said.