Soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, declared Games for the 2026 World Cup will be conducted in 11 US cities as well as 3 host sites in Mexico and 2 in Canada.
The 16 host cities will be — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.
FIFA officials will decide at a later date which of the 16 cities will conduct group play and which will organize elimination round games.
“We congratulate the 16 FIFA World Cup Host Cities on their outstanding commitment and passion,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated.
“Today is a historic day — for everyone in those cities and states, for FIFA, for Canada, the USA and Mexico who will put on the greatest show on Earth. We look forward to working together with them to deliver what will be an unprecedented FIFA World Cup and a game-changer as we strive to make football truly global.”
The 2026 men’s World Cup will be the first version to feature 48 teams and it is the first time games will be played in 3 countries.
It will be the second time the US has conducted the World Cup following the first in 1994, and a record 3rd time for Mexico, which also organized in 1970 and 1986.
It will be the first time a men’s World Cup match has been conducted in Canada, though the country did host the Women’s World Cup in 2015.
As per a 2018 US Soccer study, the host cities that are successful in their bids could acquire enormous financial benefits, with more than $5 billion in economic activity created in North America.
The study stated that those cities opted to hold World Cup matches could see an approximately $160-$620 million in economic activity.
