World Cup 2026 Poised To Be A Huge First
The United States, Canada and Mexico are teaming up in an effort to host the 2026 World Cup. The North American countries made the announcement official Monday (April 10), at a New York City press conference. An accepted bid would make this proposal the only World Cup to ever be hosted by three different nations. Back in 2002, North Korea and Japan joined forces to host the games, the only time more than one country held the event.
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It’s official! USA, Canada and Mexico declare intention to submit unified bid to host 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Details: https://t.co/Ua6lVOMXl6 pic.twitter.com/ye10ll5ypR
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) April 10, 2017
In the proposal, the United States would host 60 out of the 80 potential games, including the quarter-final through the championship match. Keep in mind that in 2026 the field of teams will grow to 48 qualifying countries.
“This sends the message to the Trump administration about the great benefits of cooperation that is simply not worth undermining,” said television broadcaster Alfredo Dominguez Muro. “It is excellent news precisely because of the political moment, for the three countries to host the most important event in the world. Let’s not forget soccer is the most important thing of all the unimportant things.”
The World Cup 2026 proposal:
??: 60 games
??: 10 games
??: 10 games pic.twitter.com/5DSN5xOkfE— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) April 10, 2017
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There is currently no other major competitors that have made bids for the 2026 games. The United States makes a lot of sense from an infrastructure standpoint, as the nation has enough stadiums to hold the games if they were starting this summer. The 1994 World Cup is also the most attended event in its illustrious history. If the bid is approved, Mexico would also be the first nation to host the event three times (1970, 1986) and Canada will become the first to host the women’s (2019) and men’s competitions.
