SoFi Stadium will be hosting World Cup matches in 2026. Unless it won’t.
According to Adam Crafton of TheAthletic.com, a dispute has emerged between stadium owner (also Rams owner) Stan Kroenke and FIFA regarding the terms of the deal. The fight arises from how the money will be shared, and where the money will come from.
Per the report, Kroenke is willing to walk away, absent a renegotiation of the deal.
Well, at least that won’t require Kroenke to put a grass field (technically, hybrid) into SoFi Stadium at a time when the players on his football team play on turf.
Per the report, FIFA is generally surprised by the “tenacity” of American cities and stadiums during the discussions over hosting, given the manner in which Qatar bent over backward to placate the powers-that-be for the 2022 World Cup.
That really shouldn’t be a surprise. Qatar craved the legitimacy that hosting a World Cup would create. The United States doesn’t need that. If anything, FIFA needs the U.S. market to more fully embrace the global sport.