The 16 cities that will host the inaugural World Cup, which will be held in three countries, were disclosed, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino delivered an audacious statement summarising the purpose of the 2026 world championship, which will be held primarily in the United States. He predicted that soccer, or football, will be the most popular sport in certain parts of the world by 2026.
There were losers and winners Thursday, roughly four years before soccer’s showpiece comes to the United States , Mexico, and Canada: Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia, and Kansas City, Missouri, were some of the towns chosen after missing out on organizing the 1994 event.
Baltimore, Nashville, Denver, Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Orlando, Florida were all left off the list.
Eleven NFL stadiums in the United States were taken. Arlington, New Jersey; Foxborough, Texas; East Rutherford, Massachusetts; Inglewood and Santa Clara, California were holdovers from the 1994 championship that enhanced soccer’s American popularity.
The Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which organized the World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986, has been chosen as the opening venue for 3 World Cups, alongside the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara and the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey.
BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia were chosen for Canada’s first organizing, while Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta was passed over.
Baltimore’s exclusion follows the withdrawal of antiquated FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, making 2017 an unusual World Cup with no events in the area of the host city.
It’s hard to imagine a World Cup is coming, according to FIFA’s chief competitions & events officer, Colin Smith.
Some stadiums, such as SoFi, are currently unable to accommodate a 68-by-105-meter (75-by-115-yard) field and would require changes to remove seating near the sides. FIFA made similar requests in the run-up to the 1994 World Cup, but eventually backed down and approved certain narrower surfaces.
After FedEx decided to drop out in April, the Detroit area, in which the old Pontiac Silverdome sponsored games, was cut in 2018. Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium was the capital area’s benchmark. In 1994, RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., was used.
Chicago, which conducted the 1994 premiere at Solider Field, declined to compete, claiming FIFA’s requirements as a reason. Unlike the 1992 declaration, which was made during a media briefing, the 2026 announcement came during a program telecast from Fox’s Manhattan studio, as reported by CNBC.
