FIFA plans on 2026 spectacle host cities

Article posted by Coliseum, January 29^th, 2021

Image: United2026

The world governing body for soccer – FIFA – has announced that it will select the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ by the end of the year.

The 23 candidate host cities for the flagship event – which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico – are expected to be cut down to 16 venues.

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

In an updated timeline, FIFA and the host associations will aim to have targeted virtual discussions with each candidate host City beginning in April.

FIFA officials then plans to visit physically each venue starting in early July and aims to have the host cities appointed by the FIFA Council in the last quarter of 2021.

However, everything will depend on the COVID-19 situation which has brought life to a grinding halt in most European countries and has severely disrupted international travel and public gatherings.

“In keeping with FIFA’s policy of following the recommendations of the health authorities in the context of the pandemic, the visits will only take place if the health and safety situation in the host countries allows FIFA to do so,” the governing body said in a statement.

Last summer, FIFA confirmed that Chicago and Vancouver were out of the running to be host cities.

The remaining US candidate cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington.

The Canadian bidders are Edmonton, Montreal, and Toronto, while the Mexican ones are Gaudalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

The pre-pandemic schedule called for cities hosting the first 48-team World Cup – likely 10 in the United States and three each in Canada and Mexico – to be picked early this year. The new deadline will depend on FIFA officials being able to take inspection trips to 17 cities in the United States and three each in Canada and Mexico.

The United States is still being clobbered by coronavirus and Canada is under lockdown. Mexico’s COVID deaths are far higher than reported, as per fresh data.

The new deadline will depend on FIFA officials being able to take inspection trips to 17 cities in the United States and three each in Canada and Mexico.

Most of the venues in the United States will be National Football League (NFL) stadiums, with the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets expected to host the final on July 12^th, 2026.

“Realizing the commercial potential of each venue, as well as in terms of sustainability, human rights and event legacy, is of the utmost importance,” the FIFA statement added.

The first World Cup with 48 teams will have 80 games instead of the current 64. The proposal was to play 60 games in the United States and 10 each in Canada and Mexico when the bid contest was won in 2018.

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