Brazil marks 500 days to FIFA Women’s World Cup with stunning Host City illustrations

With exactly 500 days to go until the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™, the first edition of FIFA’s flagship women’s competition to be staged in South America, the host nation is already brimming with the joyful and inclusive atmosphere that will define the tournament.

Fans from around the world will gather in Brazil from 24 June 2027 to cheer on 32 national teams in what promises to be a true global festival of women’s football.

The start of the 500-day countdown is the latest landmark in the lead-up to next year’s competition, following last month’s launch of the tournament’s brand in Rio de Janeiro, where the Official Emblem, Sonic Identity and Official Slogan (Go Epic™) were unveiled. Designed to underscore women’s football’s position at the heart of the global stage, the visual identity is inspired by the Brazilian flag and the geometry of the pitch, while also strikingly combining the letters “W” (standing for “women” and “world”) and “M” (which lies at the beginning of the same two words in Portuguese, “mulheres” and “mundo”).

To celebrate the road to the competition, Rio’s world-famous Avenida Atlântica was recently transformed into a living canvas. A vibrant street art festival brought together Brazilian female artists, who created illustrations representing the eight Host Cities, drawing upon Brazilians’ unique tradition of painting the streets to cheer on their country’s national teams.

Each Host City inspired four distinct illustrations, unveiled now to mark the 500-days-to-go milestone. The artworks strengthen the connection between sport and street art. The illustrations depict moments of celebration, epic scenes and city landscapes, all reflecting the unique way in which football is savoured in Brazil – both in the Host Cities and beyond.

The artists behind the illustrations are Massuelen Cristina (Belo Horizonte), Izzy Credo (Brasília), Terezadequinta (Fortaleza), Carla Barth (Porto Alegre), Bella Galvão (Recife), Paula Cruz (Rio de Janeiro), Aju Paraguassu (Salvador) and Aline Bispo (São Paulo).

They shared their excitement and the local inspirations behind their work, highlighting the Brazilian people’s deeply emotional relationship with the beautiful game.

Paraguassu, who styles herself as a “visual messenger” and was born in the Chapada Diamantina National Park, revelled in the experience of fashioning the designs representing Salvador.

“I feel like I’m scoring a great goal at a packed Arena Fonte Nova. It’s very special to be able to take part in something that is produced by so many women and that’s so powerful, and to talk about something [football] that is so uplifting, that brings joy and generates such a collective buzz,” she enthused.

Bispo, who worked on the São Paulo pictures, is a prominent multidisciplinary artist and independent curator. She was also bowled over by the opportunity to be involved in the project and expressed her delight about the global showpiece coming to her homeland.

“ “To me, it’s very special; it’s very exciting,” she noted, looking back on some of her childhood memories of following the sport with family and friends and emphasising the “importance of supporting women’s football”.

Bispo also shed light on some of her artistic choices, including a tribute to the mosaic floors that many São Paulo residents have in their homes, and explained how the beautiful game is present throughout the city, which is full of life even though it is often perceived as a grey place. “Sometimes people look at São Paulo and think of a very grey city, but there’s a lot of warmth and soul in São Paulo”… I added the mosaic flooring, which is present in people’s homes, which is present in people’s memories… When you walk through São Paulo, you see football everywhere: on buildings, on the streets, on the walls.”

Galvão, a self-taught painter from Recife, is strongly influenced by the cultural and religious heritage of Brazil’s Northeast region and cannot wait to see the competition in her hometown. “I think football is a very diverse sport, as epitomised by the fans and the teams wearing their different colours. So, I think there’s a big overlap with the references present in my work: colour, diversity, musicality and rhythm,” she said.

“We like to take to the streets, to get together, to support our teams, to celebrate and to really enjoy life.

Recife is a very warm town with a bustling street culture.”

Fans will come away from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ with many new memories and tales to share, and that narrative aspect appealed to Cristina, who crafted the illustration for Belo Horizonte.

“When I did the drawings, I really wanted to tell a story… a story about a person who was able to fulfil a dream,” she revealed. “I think this is going to be a very important event in the history of women’s football in the city. It will shine the spotlight on women, and on the girls who play today and dream of becoming professional players.”

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 will be a watershed moment for the women’s game. As FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted during last month’s brand launch in Rio de Janeiro, “Brazil lives and breathes football, and you can feel the excitement here about welcoming the world and hosting a historic event.”

National icon Marta echoed this sentiment, stating that Brazil is ready to embrace the tournament with “pride, emotion and belief” and to put on a show that will inspire a new generation of heroes.

The 500-day-to-go celebrations follow hot on the heels of the brand launch and the opening of the  FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 offices in Rio. The team responsible for delivering the tournament are now preparing for the next milestone on the journey to the 2027 extravaganza: the launch of the match schedule, which will reveal which games each of the eight Host Cities will be staging.

A fact sheet offering the low-down on all things related to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027, including profiles of the eight artists who created the Host City illustrations, is available on FIFA official website and multimedia assets featuring the artworks and their creators can be found in the dedicated section on the FIFA Digital Hub.

Fans can now register their interest at FIFA.com/ticketsto receive information on applying for tickets to be part of this “epic” adventure.