The USMNT play Panama in World Cup Qualifier. In 2026, will USA be one of the hosts of the World Cup?
Photo by: John Dorton
High atop the Freedom Tower in Manhattan a historic announcement was made this afternoon. As predicted, the USA, Canada, and Mexico announced their official bid to jointly host the 2026 World Cup.
The 2026 World cup will already be one for the history books. It has been voted on and approved that the tournament will be expanding from 32 teams to 48 teams, so it is only fitting that the World Cup also expands to be held in three different countries for the first time ever.
Although the joint bid includes all three countries, the majority of the games will be held in the United States. Canada and Mexico will each host 10 games and the rest will be played in the USA. This is good news for FIFA since the 1994 cup that the United States hosted had the highest attendance by far of any cup. Additionally, Mexico’s 1970 World Cup had the fourth highest attendance, so if this bid is approved, the 2026 World Cup might be looking to knock both of those World Cups of the water with the highest attendance ever.
Currently, no other countries have made a bid for the 2026 World Cup, and with Asia and Europe unable to host under FIFA rules, a joint American, Canadian, and Mexican Cup looks likely. FIFA does not allow any countries in a continent where the previous two World Cups have been held to make a bid. The 2018 World Cup will be held in Europe and the 2022 World Cup will be in Asia.
The official announcement of who will host the 2026 World Cup will not come until 2020.
Photos by ISI.
