FIFA visits to US Cities for 2026 showcase on

Article posted by Coliseum, September 17^th, 2021

Image: HOK

A series of FIFA visits to American Cities wishing to stage matches during the 2026 World Cup is underway.

‘inside the games’ stated that the United States, Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the next-but-one men’s World Cup, but venues have not yet been selected and the process of doing so was delayed by the coronavirus crisis the Delta variant of which still continues its ravages in the US.

FIFA is a non-profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of association football, futsal and beach football. It is the highest governing body of association football.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 23^rd FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) President Victor Montagliani – a FIFA Vice-President – leads the delegation, which began the tour in Boston on September 15^th and also includes Colin Smith, FIFA’s Chief Tournaments and Events Officer.

‘inside the games’ further stated that the team will also visit Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York-New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Miami.

There are 17 American candidate Cities in total, and it is expected that 11 will get the nod for the 2026 World Cup – the first due to feature 48 teams.

The 65,878-capacity Gillette Stadium – home to the gridiron National Football League’s (NFL) New England Patriots and Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit New England Revolution – in Foxborough, Massachusetts (US) is the venue put forward by Boston.

Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft and Boston Soccer 2026 President Brian Bilello met the FIFA delegation at Gillette Stadium on September 15^th.

Virtual sessions

The ‘FIFA’ stated that following various virtual sessions and continued exchange on a wide range of technical matters, FIFA launched the first venue visits to the FIFA World Cup™ 2026 candidate Host Cities (US) from September 15^th.

The first round of visits will run from September 15^th to September 23^rd. The FIFA delegation will visit nine US candidates, which started in Boston and will conclude in Miami.

The ‘FIFA’ further stated that the remaining US bidding venues, as well as those in Canada and Mexico, will be visited by the end of November. This series of visits is a key step in selecting the best venues for the tournament, with a view to finalizing this highly competitive selection process by Q1/Q2 2022.

The above delegation also includes FIFA experts across multiple fields, including venue management, stadium and City infrastructure, team facilities, commercial, bidding, and legal.

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