The 2026 World Cup is coming to North America.
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During the 68th FIFA Congress in Russia on Wednesday the member associations voted for the “United Bid” which will see games played across the United States of America, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
The joint bid beat Morocco’s World Cup bid, as 203 FIFA members in total voted with 134 voting for the United bid. Morocco received 65.
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The moment our united dream became a reality! 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rCTiTcxGXj
— United 2026 (@united2026) June 13, 2018
This is the first time the World Cup will be held in North America since the 1994 edition which was hosted solely by the USA. It is also the first time a tournament will be co-hosted by three countries.
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest-ever with 48 teams competing in 80 games, with 60 matches to be played in the USA plus 10 in each of Mexico and Canada.
From the start this bid was the overwhelming favorite to win the right to host the tournament and it promises to generate over $11 billion in profits for world soccer’s governing body.
Thrilled that the 2026 World Cup is coming to the USA, Mexico and Canada! We're ready to welcome players and fans to the greatest sporting event the world has ever seen! #United2026 #FootballForAll pic.twitter.com/E9UHPRL8cT
— Carlos Cordeiro (@CACSoccer) June 13, 2018
With 23 stadiums across the three countries on the shortlist already built (that list will be whittled down to 16) and ready to host the World Cup tomorrow, this tournament will be headache free for FIFA as they will focus on fine-tuning events surrounding the games.
Three host cities have been selected in each of Mexico (Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City) and Canada (Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto), while the other 16 potential host cities are all in the USA (Seattle, New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Nashville, Orlando, San Francisco/San Jose, Cincinnati).
Politically this is also a big win for the U.S., Mexico and Canada as the three nations will work closer together to host the mammoth event.
June 13, 2018 will go down as a historic day in the story of soccer in North America.
Arm in arm.
— United 2026 (@united2026) June 13, 2018
United as one.
🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇸 | #United2026 pic.twitter.com/JVz4OZXqde
