Edmonton takes kick at hosting World Cup
EDMONTON Edmonton is officially one of three Canadian cities bidding to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it was announced Friday.
Twenty-three cities in Canada, the United States and Mexico are willing to host some of the 48 teams expected to compete in the international tournament, which runs every four years, Canada Soccer says.
The federal government has to date contributed $5 million in funding to support a Canadian bid. The other two Canadian cities in the running are Montreal and Toronto.
“This is a two-staged approach — the first stage is to provide the necessary support to be successful in winning the bid,” federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi said Friday in Edmonton.
He said it was too early to say how much more the feds would contribute should the North American “United 2026” bid beat out Morocco to host the tournament.
FIFA will announce the winning bidder June 13. Once a winner is picked, FIFA will choose 16 of the 23 prospective cities to accommodate matches.
Vancouver dropped out of the United 2026 bid Wednesday after the province of British Columbia and the bid committee failed to reach a financial agreement.
Sohi joined Steven Reed, president of Canada Soccer and cochair of the United 2026 bid committee, and Ward 10 Coun. Michael Walters for the Friday morning announcement.
“Edmonton is truly a great soccer city,” said Walters. “There are over 25,000 children and youth registered in soccer here in the city.”
He noted the province has so far not backed the bid, but lobbying will continue.
“The door is not closed, but there is some hesitancy,” said Walters. “Ultimately, if we’re going to be left on the hook for full costs as we get closer to knowing, that’s not something we’d be comfortable with. But we feel confident we’re going to be able to pull it out. “
Reed also expressed his confidence in the bid moving forward, but admitted he was surprised when the province expressed reservations in supporting the city’s bid.
“It wasn’t something that overly concerned us because we’re confident with the City of Edmonton and what they’ve done to date,” said Reed.
“We’re very confident in their ability to engage with the province of Alberta as they have done in the past to bring events to the city and the province.”
Ultimately, Reed said hosting the games would be a huge win for Edmonton, and Canada.
“We are the only G7 country to not host the men’s World Cup,” said Reed, adding: “It’s our time.”