FIFA president Gianni Infantino says he expects football to be the biggest game in North America for the 2026 World Cup as the tournament’s host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico were announced on Thursday. World football governing body FIFA announced 16 cities – 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada – that were successful in advancing 22 bids at a special event at Rockefeller Center in New York.
However, there was no indication of where the opening game or final would be played. “Soccer or soccer will be the number one sport in this part of the world by 2026,” Infantino boldly predicted as fans in the newly-appointed host cities.
The United States, which staged the tournament in 1994, will host games in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York/New Jersey. Mexico, which hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, will stage matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, while Canada, which is hosting the men’s event for the first time, will do so in Vancouver and Toronto.
“It was the most competitive process for the FIFA World Cup, we will have the world to come here, we will have an exciting tournament,” Infantino said.
He said that no decision has been taken yet on where the final will be held. “There are still some discussions going on and we will definitely choose the best cities out there for the inaugural and final, but every match in this World Cup will be a final,” Infantino said.
Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, Washington DC/Baltimore and Edmonton were the six cities that missed out. Excited fans gathered outside the venue in New York, waving American, Canadian and Mexican flags, along with attendees for the announcement along with a member of the US national team and 23-year-old Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic.
San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium hosted a private watch party and New York City Mayor Eric Adams was expected to attend a watch party at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Canada national team player and Toronto native Jonathan Osorio said as a child he would not have imagined watching the World Cup in his country.
“It’s amazing – it’s amazing that the World Cup is finally coming up in Canada … it’s an amazing achievement for the whole country,” he said.
Celebrities including Michael Buble (representing Vancouver), Magic Johnson (Los Angeles), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City), F1 drivers Sergio Perez (Guadalajara) and Gloria Estefan (Miami) celebrate the inclusion of their hometowns On-screen messages offered. The 2026 tournament is expected to break the World Cup attendance record, which peaked at 3.6 million when it was held in the United States in 1994.
GLR
Guadalajara is the first Mexican city to be announced as the #FIFAWorldCup 2026 host city! #HostCity2026 pic.twitter.com/OD7uJYjCCL – FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 16, 2022
It will also be the first time 48 teams will take part in the tournament, which is more than the 32 participating in this year’s event in Qatar. “It’s going to be amazing to be a part of it (the Qatar World Cup) and then be one in this country,” Pulisic said.
