CONTINENTAL COLLABORATION
Canada, U.S., Mexico bid for World Cup
A World Cup bid was revealed Monday in the United States, and the fact Mexico will help pay for it apparently was enough to get U.S. President Donald Trump on board.
“The president is fully supportive and has encouraged us,” United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said. “He’s excited Mexico is part of this bid.”
Canada, Mexico and the U.S. officially revealed their longawaited mega-bid to co-host the FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2026. An agreement between the three CONCACAF nations would see 75 per cent of the 80-game 48-team tournament held in the U.S., with both Canada and Mexico hosting 10 fixtures each.
Gulati said the proposal to FIFA would see the quarter-finals, semifinals, third-place game and World Cup final all played in American stadiums.
“We think with 80 games and a qualifying tournament, we have an ability to play at far more venues than has ever been the case,” Gulati added.
The only other co-hosted World Cup was played in 20 stadiums across South Korea and Japan in 2002. By comparison, the 2014 World Cup featured 12 venues in Brazil.
“We’re in favour of more venues than less,” Gulati added — a signal matches in Canada could be spread across stadiums beyond Toronto and Vancouver.
Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani said the expectation is for all three potential host nations to automatically qualify for the tournament.
“I think you already know our position,” he said, adding that qualification will eventually be decided in conjunction with FIFA.
While the U.S. remained front and centre during Monday’s press event in New York City, Montagliani was asked to address Canada’s lack of World Cup-ready venues. Toronto’s BMO Field — home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC — is the only multipurpose stadium in Canada outfitted with a natural grass surface.
Montagliani was reminded of the controversy that brewed two summers ago when FIFA permitted Canada to stage the women’s tournament entirely on artificial turf.
“We haven’t discussed any of that,” Montagliani said. “It’s FIFA’s decision. … Every men’s World Cup has been played on grass. I’d assume this will be the same.”
Montagliani told Postmedia that FIFA would likely award Canada anywhere from two to six host cities to stage its 10 World Cup games.
He likened the Canadian soccer landscape as similar to where the U.S. was before it was awarded the 1994 World Cup, a watershed moment for the sport in that country.
In some ways, the growth of soccer in Canada hinges on the success of the mega-bid, which will be voted on by or before 2020.
“We still have to get this World Cup, but if that happens in the next while, then we’ll have a north star,” Montagliani told Postmedia. “It’s an event second to none.
“The U.S. was at the same point we are now 20 years ago in terms of changing the game into a real professional entity. If we get the tournament, it will accelerate the process.”
As of now, the process is quite simple as there are no competing bids. Montagliani agreed it’s a “possibility” that no other nations will attempt to host in 2026.
“That’s not to say there won’t be,” he said. Countries from the Asian and European soccer confederations can’t bid to host 2026, Montagliani said, due to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups being staged in Russia and Qatar. That would leave members from South America, Africa and Oceania as the only other options.
“We were trying to figure out how (co-hosting) wasn’t a good idea,” Montagliani said, “and nobody could figure that out.”