North American trio to host 2026 FIFA World Cup
The trio of United States of America, Mexico and Canada are set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The announcement came on Wednesday as their joint bid beat Morocco's proposal to host the event. 'United 2026' bid was accepted by the football governing body as these nations managed to garner 134 votes to Morocco's 65. Here is more on the same.
All about the bid for hosting the 2026 World Cup
Out of 211 FIFA nations, 200 voted in Moscow. Guam, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which are three US territories, did not vote. Ghana was absent as well after its Football Association was banned post widespread allegations of corruption. Togo ticked the box for neither. The winning bid required 104 votes. US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro thanked everyone for giving this privilege.
What to expect in 2026?
There will be 16 host cities for the 2026 edition. 10 out of these 16 cities will be in United States of America. The remaining six cities will be split between Canada and Mexico. 60 matches will take place in US with Canada and Mexico hosting 10 games each. 84,953-capacity MetLife Stadium, in New York, will host the final of the grand event.
Vital facts about the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is going to be the biggest edition ever held. 48 teams are set to take part in a 80-match event, spanning 34 days. Mexico (1970 and 1986) and US (1994) have hosted the World Cups previously. Meanwhile, Canada hosted the 2015 Women's World Cup. Cordeiro stated that the 2026 event is set to generate $14 billion in revenues.
Other major details of 2026 WC
This is the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup that three nations will be hosting the World Cup. Morocco was unlucky as their fifth bid to host the football carnival was rejected.
