France to Host 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

France has been awarded the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, beating out South Korea, who were the only other nation to submit an official bid.  

BBC 5Live's Richard Conway shared the news:

The news was later confirmed by FIFA, via its official website:

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France has been awarded the hosting rights for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ and the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2018 ahead of Korea Republic, who was also in the running.

The announcement was made today at the Home of FIFA in Zurich during a ceremony led by FIFA President Blatter and Lydia Nsekera, member of the FIFA Executive Committee.

The announcement followed a unanimous decision taken by the FIFA Executive Committee today.

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The European nation was always considered a strong favourite after England withdrew its bid, and following the 1998 World Cup, France has a number of impressive venues and the necessary infrastructure to host such an event.

All of France's top venues feature pitches made of natural grass, and in light of the controversy surrounding the 2015 World Cup in Canada and the use of artificial turf, as reported by The Washington Post's Steven Goff, that likely played into the decision as well.

Bleacher Report UK's Andrew Gibney was excited when France were announced as hosts, to say the least:

France qualified as group winners for the 2015 World Cup after making the semi-finals in 2011, so picking a European host likely to qualify anyway opens up an extra slot that can be distributed elsewhere.