The 2022 FIFA World Cup set to kick off this fall in Qatar, and we now know which cities will play host for the 2026 tournament in North America.
On Thursday, FIFA announced the 16 North American cities that will host the 80 matches and 48 teams competing in the men’s 2026 World Cup.
The western region will weave through Vancouver (BC Place), Seattle (Lumen Field), San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium), Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium), and Guadalajara (Estadio Akron).
Central region competitions will be held in Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium), Dallas (AT&T Stadium), Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Houston (NRG Stadium), Monterrey (Estadio BBVA), and Mexico City (Estadio Azteca).
Toronto (BMO Field), Boston (Gillette Stadium), Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), Miami (Hard Rock Stadium), and New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium) will host teams in the eastern region.
Among those cities, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco are repeat hosts from the last time the men’s World Cup was played in the U.S. in 1994. Also of note: Canadian and U.S. capital cities Ottawa and Washington, D.C. were not selected.
Along with D.C./Baltimore (M&T Bank Stadium), the other contending U.S. cities that didn’t make the cut included Cincinnati (Paul Brown Stadium), Denver (Empower Field at Mile High), Nashville (Nissan Stadium), and Orlando (Camping World Stadium). Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium) was left out in Canada, while all three eligible Mexican sites were selected.
There will be what FIFA president Gianni Infantino called clusters, these three regions and areas where matches will be played, likely to limit the travel across the North American continent. Of course, 2026 will be the first World Cup with an expanded field from 32 to 48, precipitating the need for an increase to 16 host cities across three host countries.
Though an announcement for when the opening and final matches were expected to be announced, Infantino said that FIFA will take its time making these choices in due time.
For the time being, Los Angeles, New York, and Mexico City are generally viewed as the favorites to host the 2026 World Cup Final.
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