As the world awaits the start of the 2018 World Cup tomorrow in Russia, news was released this morning that will make soccer fans in North America beyond happy.
Today it was announced that the 2026 World Cup was awarded to North America, marking the first time it’s returning to the continent since 1994.
With a 134-65 vote in favor of the so-called United Bid (the runner up was Morocco), the United States, Canada and Mexico will be teaming up to host one of the largest sporting events in the world in eight years, giving a much needed boost to soccer in the U.S. Adding to this win comes word that the field will be expanded from 32 teams to 48, which will play 80 games over 34 days, helping to generate a projected $5.8 billion across the three host countries.
“Football is the only victor. We are all united in football,” said US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro. “Thank you so, so much for this incredible honour. Thank you for entrusting us with this privilege.”
The 2026 World Cup will consist of 16 host cities, 10 of which will be in the U.S. and the remaining 6 split between Canada and Mexico. This equates to 60 matches in the U.S., 10 in Canada and 10 in Mexico, with the final game being held at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
In a statement, US Soccer said:
“Hosting the 2026 Fifa World Cup is a rare and important moment to demonstrate that we are all truly united through sport.”
“We are humbled by the trust our colleagues in the Fifa family have put in our bid, strengthened by the unity between our three countries and the Concacaf region and excited by the opportunity we have to put football on a new and sustainable path for generations to come.”
With Team USA failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup, this is a huge win for soccer fans in the U.S.
