The International Football Association (FIFA) announced on Wednesday 16 North American cities that will host the 2026 World Cup, 11 locations in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to be hosted by three countries, and it will be the first tournament to be expanded to 48 teams.
What you need to know about the 2026 World Cup: 16 stadiums
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Official US World Cup Host Cities: New York / New Jersey (Medlife Stadium); Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium); Dallas (AT&T Stadium); San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium); Miami (Hard Rock Stadium); Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium); Seattle (Lumenfield); Houston (NRG Stadium); Philadelphia (Lincoln Department of Treasury); Kansas City, Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium); Boston (Gillette Stadium).
The host of the 1994 World Cup Final, the Rose Bowl, was not selected, and was replaced by another stadium in Los Angeles, Sophie Stadium.
“This is a very competitive process for the FIFA World Cup,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told Fox Sports about the selection process. “We work as teams and ensure that teams and fans do not have to travel a lot in different parts of the West and the Middle East.”
The cities officially selected to host the World Cup in Mexico and Canada are: Guadalajara (Estadio Acron), Monterey (Estadio BPVA Pancomar), Mexico City (Estadio Azteca), Toronto (BMO Stadium) and Vancouver.
“This is a historic day for football and the entire American football community, from every corner of our grassroots base to professionals and our national teams along the way,” President Cindy Barlow Cohn said in a statement. “Together with our close friends in Canada and Mexico, we cannot be too excited to partner with FIFA to host what we believe will be the greatest World Cup in history.
“I would like to congratulate all of the vendors organizing the Games. When the world comes to North America in four years’ time, I know you will be doing an amazing job sharing world-class stadiums, unique communities, culture and amazing fans.”
The following nominees were missing: Baltimore/Washington (M&D Bank Stadium); Orlando, Florida (Universal Camping Playground); Cincinnati (Paul Brown Stadium); Nashville, TN (Nissan Stadium); Denver (mile high at Empower Field); Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium).
Of the original three-nation auction, United 2026, 60 games are scheduled to take place in the United States, while Mexico and Canada will receive 10 games each. Once the tournament reaches the quarter-finals, all remaining knockout rounds will take place in the United States
Starting with candidates from 44 cities and 49 North American stadiums, the venue selection process began in 2017. Prospective applicants were asked to provide information on “each city’s transportation infrastructure, previous experience hosting major sporting and cultural events, available shelters, and environmental protection initiatives.” , potential locations, and more, including potential training locations, base camps, and more.” considerations. “
In March 2018, a few months before FIFA officially awarded the right to host the 2026 World Cup auction to United 2026, the list of North American nominees was reduced to 23. Regions such as Chicago and Minneapolis are not on the list. and Arizona, due to what city officials described as problems with FIFA’s funding requirements.
Other notable cities that will disappear from the list of 23 places as of 2018 include Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit. Las vigas; Salt Lake City and Tampa, Florida. Vancouver, which initially shut down after a funding dispute, changed that after the provincial government withdrew its support in 2021 after leaving Montreal.
The FIFA delegation, led by CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montaliani, will visit all candidate cities by the end of 2021.
The joint Baltimore and Washington auction was announced at M&T Bank Stadium in April after FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. He went off the flow and decided to merge with the Baltimore Auction. According to the plan, there was supposed to be a fan festival at the National Mall in Washington.
Since the Rose Bowl was not selected, none of the US stadiums from the 1994 Men’s World Cup will be used for the 2026 tournament.
Five of the 2026 World Cup cities – Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey and the San Francisco Bay Area – were in nine locations in 1994, while the other five cities – Atlanta, Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia, and Seattle – were on the 1994 list. , but not cut.
Infantino will not point to FIFA’s hand in hosting the opening match of 2026: “There are still some discussions and we will definitely choose the best cities for the opening and final matches. It will be the final of the World Cup.
Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals, was the first venue to host the three men’s World Cup finals. Mexico is the first country to host or co-host the three men’s World Cup finals.
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