North America 2026 FIFA World Cup bid

2026 FIFA World Cup
Canada-Mexico-United States 2026

The bid logo for the Canada-Mexico-USA 2026 World Cup Bid
Tournament details
Host countries  Canada
 Mexico
 United States
Teams 48 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 80

On 10 April 2017, the soccer federation presidents of Canada, Mexico and the United States announced that they would submit a joint bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[1][2] This would be the first World Cup to be hosted in three countries.

The United States would host 60 of the 80 matches, while Canada and Mexico would host 10 matches each.[3] All matches from the quarterfinals forward including World Cup Final would take place in the United States.[1]

Background

The three soccer federations of Canada, Mexico and the United States announced interest to submit a bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup years before the federations intended to unify their efforts.

In July 2012, Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani confirmed plans for a Canadian bid, saying: "We have verbally told FIFA that when the bid process begins for the next available World Cup, which would be the 2026 World Cup, that the CSA will be one of the countries putting in a formal proposal".[4] At the time the bid was announced, Canada had hosted the men's 1987 Under-16 World Championship and the U-20 World Cups for both men and women; the country has since hosted the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015. In October 2013, Montagliani confirmed Canada's intention to bid for the 2026 tournament [5] and the Canadian Soccer Association reiterated this in January 2014. .[6]

In September 2012, Mexican Football Federation President Justino Compeán confirmed plans for a Mexican bid.[7] In October 2013, Liga MX President said that Mexico is interested in joining forces with the U.S. to co-host a bid for the 2026 World Cup.[8] On 9 December 2014, the Mexican Football Federation confirmed that it is bidding for the 2026 World Cup.[9] If the campaign is successful, Mexico will be the first nation to have hosted the World Cup three times.

On 13 May 2016 at the FIFA Congress in Mexico City, USSF board member John Motta told ESPN "whatever happens, we will bid for the 2026 World Cup -- either jointly (with Mexico or Canada) or we will go it alone."[10] The United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup and unsuccessfully bid for the 2022 World Cup, which was won by Qatar in 2010. On 18 April 2015, Brazilian legend Pelé stated that the United States should host the 2026 World Cup.[11]

In December 2016 Victor Montagliani, CONCACAF president announced for the first time a possibility of a joint bid between the United States, Canada and Mexico to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[12]

Bid process

Bidding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was postponed due to the 2015 FIFA corruption case and the subsequent resignation of Sepp Blatter,[13] then it was restarted following the FIFA Council meeting on 10 May 2016, wherein the bidding process will consist of four phases:[14]

With no rival bid having emerged since April 2017 the CONCACAF member federations of Canada, Mexico and the United States sent a joint request to FIFA to hasten the bid process. Canada, Mexico and the United States wanted FIFA to award the bid outside the traditional bidding process at the June 2018 FIFA Congress in Moscow if the CONCACAF-bid meets FIFA requirements.[15][16]

However the FIFA Council decided on 8 May 2017 that FIFA would have a full bidding procedure. In order to ensure continental rotation of hosting duties, only the member associations of CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC were invited, as these continental confederations had not hosted the two previous World Cups.[17] A date of 11 August 2017 was set for submission of an intention to bid.[18]

FIFA football tournament hosting experiences

Together, Canada, Mexico and the United States have successfully hosted 13 FIFA events, which is the most of any trio of geographically connected nations in the world.[19]

Bid committee

On 6 July 2017, a United Bid Committee was officially formed by the National Federations of Canada, Mexico and the United States, to kick off the bidding process to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to North America.[20][21][22][23][24]

Honorary Chairman of the Board

United Bid Committee Board of directors

United Bid Committee Executive Team

North American Soccer Associations headquarters
Place Soccer Canada in Downtown Ottawa is the headquarters of the Canadian Soccer Association 
Former Mexican Football Federation Headquarters in Mexico City. 
United States Soccer Federation headquarters building, known as U.S. Soccer House, 1801 South Prairie Avenue in Chicago 

Potential venues

Stadiums must be able to accommodate a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) hospitality village no more than 150 metres from the stadium. They must also have a capacity of at least 40,000 for group and second round matches and 60,000 for quarter finals and 80,000 for the final.[26]

The only existing stadium capable of hosting the World Cup Final would be Montreal's Olympic Stadium; its current soccer configuration seats 66,308. Others may require expansion in order to meet the strict requirements for holding World Cup tournament games, as is usual for pre-existing stadia. CSA president Victor Montagliani stated there are venues, all Canadian Football League stadiums, in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa that can be expanded to meet World Cup standards.[27] Except for Toronto's BMO Field, virtually every CFL stadium uses artificial turf, a source of contention among soccer players and officials, particularly during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the first major FIFA tournament to be contested solely on artificial turf. The CSA expects the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be staged in four Canadian cities.[28]. A number of stadiums in Canada have the ability to add temporary seating for events like the FIFA World Cup.

Stadium City Expected Capacity
Olympic Stadium Montreal 66,308
Commonwealth Stadium Edmonton 56,302
Investors Group Field Winnipeg 40,000
BC Place Stadium Vancouver 54,500
Rogers Centre Toronto 47,568
TD Place Stadium Ottawa 40,000
BMO Field Toronto 40,148
Tim Hortons Field Hamilton 40,000
Mosaic Stadium Regina, Saskatchewan 40,000
McMahon Stadium Calgary, Alberta 46,020

Mexico has one stadium capable of hosting the World Cup Final, Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, and six other stadia that can hold matches in the first two rounds. Also, there are some concerns with Mexico's high crime rate.[29]

Stadium City Capacity
Estadio Azteca Mexico City 87,000
Estadio Jalisco Guadalajara 54,963
Estadio BBVA Bancomer Guadalupe 52,237
Estadio Olímpico Universitario Mexico City 48,297
Estadio Cuauhtémoc Puebla City 46,928
Estadio Chivas Zapopan 45,364
Estadio Universitario San Nicolás 41,615

There are many stadiums capable of hosting the World Cup in the United States: there are 137 stadiums in the United States that have a capacity of 40,000 or more, 80 of which have a capacity of 60,000 or more. However, most of these stadiums were built primarily for American football, and a significant number are not physically capable of accommodating a FIFA-standard association football pitch. Under current FIFA guidelines for venues hosting international matches, the touch lines (analogous to sidelines in American football) must be between 100 and 110 metres (330 and 360 ft) long, and the end lines (in American football, the term is used for the lines at the rear of each end zone) must be between 64 and 75 metres (210 and 246 ft) long. The American football field, including the end zones, is precisely 360 by 160 feet (109.7 by 48.77 m). The length is within FIFA requirements for the touchlines, but the width is more than 15 metres (49 ft) shorter than FIFA's lower limit for end line length.

The United States does not have expansive soccer-specific stadiums. However, many American football stadiums have been successfully converted for previous international competitions, and a substantial number of newer stadiums have been designed to accommodate both football codes. The majority of stadiums in any World Cup bid will be stadiums where a team of the National Football League (NFL) is the primary tenant.

Los Angeles, CA Pasadena, CA

(Host City: Los Angeles, CA)

 East Rutherford, NJ

(Host City: New York, NY)

 Landover, MD

(Host City: Washington, D.C.)

Los Angeles Stadium Memorial Coliseum Rose Bowl MetLife Stadium FedExField
Capacity: 100,000 Capacity: 93,607 Capacity: 92,542 Capacity: 82,500 Capacity: 82,000
Potential Final Venue Potential Final Venue Potential Final Venue

Hosted 1994 FIFA World Cup Final

 Potential Final Venue

1994 FIFA World Cup Host City

 Potential Knock-out Stage Venue

1994 FIFA World Cup Host City

Arlington, TX

(Host City: Dallas, TX)

 Jacksonville, FL Kansas City, MO Denver, CO Birmingham, AL
AT&T Stadium EverBank Field Arrowhead Stadium Sports Authority Field Legion Field
Capacity: 80,000

(expandable to 100,000)

 Capacity: 76,876

(expandable to 82,000)

 Capacity: 76,416 Capacity: 76,125 Capacity: 71,594
Potential Final Venue

1994 FIFA World Cup Host City

 Potential Knock-out Stage Venue
Houston, TX Atlanta, GA[30] Minneapolis, MN Nashville, TN Foxborough, MA

(Host City: Boston, MA)

NRG Stadium Mercedes-Benz Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium Nissan Stadium Gillette Stadium
Capacity: 71,500 Capacity: 71,000 Capacity: 70,000 Capacity: 68,798 Capacity: 68,756
Potential Knock-out Stage Venue 1994 FIFA World Cup Host City
Philadelphia, PA Santa Clara, CA

(Host City: San Francisco, CA)

 Seattle, WA Miami Gardens, FL

(Host City: Miami, FL)

 Orlando, FL[31]
Lincoln Financial Field Levi's Stadium CenturyLink Field Hard Rock Stadium Camping World Stadium
Capacity: 68,532 Capacity: 68,500 Capacity: 67,000 Capacity: 65,326 Capacity: 65,000
Potential Knock-out Stage Venue 1994 FIFA World Cup Host City Potential Knock-out Stage Venue 1994 FIFA World Cup Host City
Detroit, MI Glendale, AZ

(Host City: Phoenix, AZ)

 Paradise, NV

(Host City: Las Vegas, NV)

 Chicago, IL
Ford Field University of Phoenix Stadium Las Vegas Stadium Soldier Field
Capacity: 65,000 Capacity: 63,400 Capacity: 65,000 Capacity: 61,500
1994 FIFA World Cup Host City Potential Knock-out Stage Venues 1994 FIFA World Cup Venue

Support

Football confederations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "USA, Mexico, Canada announce bid to host '26 WC". 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Carlise, Jeff (10 April 2017). "U.S., Mexico and Canada officially launch bid to co-host 2026 World Cup". Archived from the original on 11 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Carlise, Jeff (10 April 2017). "U.S., neighbors launch 2026 World Cup bid". Archived from the original on 11 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Ben Rycroft (6 July 2012). "Canadian Soccer Association to bid for 2026 World Cup". CBC. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Squizzatoa, Daniel (10 October 2013). "The race is on: Canada continues to plan on bid for 2026 World Cup". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Canada to bid for 2026 FIFA World Cup". CBC. The Canadian Press. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Mexico to bid for 2026 World Cup". ESPN. Press Association. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Report: Mexico would team up with USA to host 2026 World Cup tournament". Major League Soccer. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Buscará México la sede del Mundial 2026" [Mexico seeks to host the 2026 World Cup] (in Spanish). Milenio. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Chaudhary, Vivek (13 May 2016). "United States, Mexico in talks for joint 2026". ESPN FC. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Lewis, Brian (18 April 2015). "Pelé: US deserves World Cup". New York Post. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "U.S., Canada, Mexico 2026 World Cup bid a possibility - CONCACAF chief". ESPN.com. 28 December 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "Scandal-plagued FIFA postpones 2026 World Cup bidding". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ "CONCACAF to ask FIFA to fast-track U.S.-led 2026 World Cup bid -- sources". 11 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  16. ↑ "FIFA Council set to back North American 2026 World Cup bid". Reuters. 8 May 2017.
  17. ↑ "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup™". FIFA. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017.
  18. ↑ "FIFA Council keeps bidding window for 2026 World Cup open for further three months". Inside the Games. 9 May 2017.
  19. ↑ "FIVE THINGS TO KNOW: UNIFIED 2026 WORLD CUP BID". US Soccer. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "UNITED BID COMMITTEE FOR CANADA, MEXICO AND UNITED STATES OFFICIALLY FORMED FOR 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP". US Soccer. 6 July 2018.
  21. ↑ "Kristick hired as United Bid Committee executive director for '26 World Cup". ESPN. Associated Pres. 6 July 2017.
  22. ↑ Davidson, Neil (6 July 2017). "CONCACAF finalizes committee ahead of 2026 World Cup bid". TSN. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017.
  23. ↑ "Canadá, México y Estados Unidos Formaron el Comité de la Candidatura Conjunta Para Competir por la Sede de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026" (in Spanish). FEDERACIÓN MEXICANA DE FÚTBOL ASOCIACIÓN. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011.
  24. ↑ "United Bid 2026". www.united2026.com.
  25. ↑ "Robert Kraft Named Honorary Chairman of the Board for United Bid Committee of Canada Mexico USA". www.united2026.com.
  26. ↑ Kelso, Paul (26 May 2009). "London Olympic Stadium possible venue for 2018 World Cup". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  27. ↑ Lawson, Kurtis (6 December 2015). "Canada's World Cup bid could start as early as next summer". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  28. ↑ Larson, Kurt (12 June 2017). "World Cup 2026 could be staged in four Canadian cities, CSA official tells the Toronto Sun". Toronto Sun.
  29. ↑ Chelminski, James. "Bidding War: 2026 World Cup". The Sports Quotient. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017.
  30. ↑ "Atlanta contacted about 2026 World Cup". Atlanta Journal Constitution. July 26, 2017.
  31. ↑ "City of Orlando contacted about 2026 World Cup bid". Orlando Sentinel. July 24, 2017.
  32. ↑ Das, Andrew (18 April 2017). "FIFA Confederation Agrees to Support U.S.-Led World Cup Bid". The New York Times.
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