The 2026 FIFA World Cup is to be held in the US, Mexico and Canada after FIFA’s congress yesterday voted overwhelmingly to back the tri-nation joint bid for the tournament and leave Morocco to miss out for the fifth time.
The North American bid collected 134 votes to the 65 for Morocco. One congress member voted for “neither bid.”
The 2026 tournament would be the first expanded tournament featuring 48 teams, up from the current 32-team tournament, which begins in Russia today.
Both bids were given a last chance to make their case with 15 minute presentations in front of the congress at the Moscow Expocentre, where the North Americans pledged their tournament would generate an US$11 billion profit, while Morocco said theirs would make US$5 billion.
Although it is to be the first tournament to be hosted by three nations, the vast majority of games would be held in the US.
Of the 80 games, 10 matches would be held in Canada, 10 in Mexico and 60 in the US, with the final played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.
“Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026,” Carlos Cordiero, president of the US Soccer Federation told the congress. “Soccer today is the only winner.”
The US hosted the World Cup in 1994, while Mexico hosted it in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted a men’s World Cup, but held the women’s tournament in 2015.
Morroco has now failed in five bids to host a World Cup.
The last time that FIFA voted on World Cup hosting rights was in 2010, with the decision resting with the old executive committee, and they chose Russia to host the 2018 tournament and Qatar for 2022.
Several members of that committee were later banned from the sport after they were caught up in the corruption scandal that engulfed world soccer’s governing body in 2015.
Under FIFA’s new system for choosing the host, all eligible soccer federations who attend the congress were given a vote.
The result has been a jet-setting campaign from both bids, who have traveled the globe in an attempt to win over the worldwide electorate.
Cordeiro has said his bid would generate US$14 billion in revenue and make an US$11 billion profit for FIFA. The bid also expects record ticket and hospitality revenue.
The result is a boost for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who, while maintaining neutrality during the campaign, was known to be eager to see the first expanded tournament held in North America.
The 2022 tournament is to be hosted by Qatar, while the 2018 edition begins in Moscow, with Russia playing Saudi Arabia.
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