The hosts of the FIFA Women’s World Cup has been decided by the FIFA Council to date.

The ruling body last year voted in favour of Australia and New Zealand hosting the next edition of the tournament in 2023.

A total of 22 of the 35 possible votes were in favour of the bid, with the joint effort seeing off the challenge of Colombia.

The FIFA Council met by videoconference today, with a unanimous decision taken to place the responsibility for determining the future hosts in the hands of the FIFA Congress.

This would mirror the approach of the men’s FIFA World Cup.

Approval for the move is expected to be granted by the FIFA Congress on May 31.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino admitted the release of players for upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022 was "difficult" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic and refusal of some clubs to release players had led to the postponement of Asian and South American qualification matches.

This followed the FIFA Council having extended temporary amendments to the regulations regarding the release of players for international duty.

Infantino said he was hopeful the scheduled qualifiers later this month will be able to take place with the best possible squads.

The FIFA President said the organisation remained in dialogue with national authorities about exemptions from quarantine rules for national team players.

Infantino said the organisation was looking at when postponed qualification matches can take place.

An issue for the South American Football Confederation could be the rescheduled Copa America in June and July.

The tournament, which was rescheduled from 2020, follows the next scheduled rounds of World Cup qualifying.

Four rounds of CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualification cycle have been completed to date.

Infantino said FIFA would not find a "perfect" solution but was confident an agreement could be reached to protect the health of players and sporting integrity of the tournament.

The FIFA President added that discussions over the future international match calendar will now begin, stressing the importance of keeping national and club competitions "at the same level."