Goal in sight: City confident in Cup plan

Committee eyeing quarterly tasks before FIFA makes final host picks

Houston’s bid to be one of the 10 host cities in the United States for the 2026 World Cup is entering the stretch run.

Since the World Cup was awarded to the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 2018, the number of potential host cities has been narrowed to 23 candidates. Three from Mexico, three from Canada and 10 from the U.S. will make up the pool of host cities, and Houston is making a strong push to lock down its spot on the list.

“We are as qualified, if not more qualified, than any other city to host this event when you look at our bid package across the board,” said Chris Canetti, the president of Houston’s bid committee. “We have very few weaknesses and very many strengths.”

Mexico and Canada’s host cities are confirmed: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara in Mexico; and Montreal, Edmonton and Toronto in Canada. This leaves 17 American cities to battle for the right to host the Cup.

FIFA has laid out a set of tasks for each city to complete throughout the year. In the next 30-40 days, Canetti said, the committee will meet with FIFA and representatives from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority to go through the plan to host matches at NRG Stadium.

In the second quarter of the year, there will be another meeting between the city and FIFA to discuss general issues with Houston’s plan. In the third quarter, there will be a two-day site visit. And in the fourth quarter, FIFA will make its final host city choices.

Canetti said Houston is as prepared as any other city to make a great impression on FIFA. Knowing the city has done well hosting major events in the past confirms as much to him.

“No. 1, our city has hosted more major sporting events than any other candidate host city since 2004,” Canetti said. “We’ve been there. We’ve done that, and we’ve done it successfully.”

The cities Houston is competing against include other major markets like Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and San Francisco. So the committee members have their work cut out when building a plan that helps Houston stand out. According to Canetti, one of the major aspects of the bid package involves Houston’s accessibility.

The city sports two international airports. Direct flights to Houston come from every continent, and Houston’s airports have the most direct flights to Central and South America. Canetti believes these elements matter in terms of how easily any country can get its team to Houston, giving the city a leg up on other potential U.S. sites.

Like other aspects of life over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how Houston’s committee works. Canetti had been “out and about” and meeting with different groups face-to-face, but since March, those meetings have gone virtual. Also, his committee initially thought 2020 would be the stretchrun toward selections, but the pandemic forced things back a year.

While that extra year did cause a lull in the process, it also gave Houston’s committee the opportunity to craft an even stronger plan. That strategy, Canetti said, is why Houston should be selected when the time comes.

“We’re ready. We’re organized. We are committed and feel like we’re in a good position to put our best foot forward on this bid process,” Canetti said. “Doesn’t mean I know what the outcome’s going to be. None of us do, but we feel very confident about the work that we’ve done.”

Since the group’s bid was added to the selection process, a Houston committee has been hard at work putting together the right plan to entice FIFA to pick the city.

Canetti, who resigned as president of the Houston Dynamo FC and Dash to become the president of the Houston World Cup Bid Committee in January 2019, said his team has joined forces with different entities around Houston, from officials at NRG Stadium to airports to the area hotel community, to put a plan in place.

“There’s no way that I could’ve done this myself,” Canetti said. “It’s been a tremendous effort so far. I think that’s part of the spirit of this community that maybe doesn’t exist everywhere else. When we come together and mobilize and unite, we can make big things happen.”