FIFA MAKES FINAL ’26 SITE CHOICES
The 16 cities of the first World Cup spread across three nations were revealed, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a bold statement summing up the goal of the 2026 tournament, to be played largely in the United States.
“By 2026, futbol — soccer — will be the No. 1 sport in this country,” he proclaimed.
Roughly four years before soccer’s showcase comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, there already were winners and losers Thursday: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Kansas City, Mo., were picked after missing out on hosting the 1994 tournament.
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tenn., and Orlando, Fla., missed the cut.
Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, N.J.; Foxborough, Mass., and Inglewood and Santa Clara, were the holdover areas from the 1994 tournament that boosted soccer’s American prominence.
Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and ’86 finals and will become the first stadium in three World Cups, was selected along with Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron and Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA.
Toronto’s BMO Field and Vancouver, British Columbia’s B.C. Place were picked while Edmonton, Alberta’s Commonwealth Stadium was dropped.
Following the withdrawl of outmoded FedEx Field in Landover, Md., Baltimore’s omission means this will be the first World Cup with no matches in the vicinity of a host’s capital, though Infantino promised a fan fest on Washington’s National Mall.
“The story is always who doesn’t get chosen,” U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone said.
Infantino’s goal of reaching the top of U.S. sports appears to be quite a reach. The NFL averaged 17.1 million viewers for television and digital during its 2021 season, while the 2018 World Cup averaged 5.04 million in U.S. English- and Spanish-language television.
“I know it was giggles and laughs,” Canada Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani said of the reaction to Infantino. “He wasn’t joking.”
The bid plan envisioned 60 games in the U.S., including all from the quarterfinals on, and 10 each in Mexico and Canada.
Specific sites for each round will be announced later, and Infantino said worldwide television times were a factor for the final, which makes the Eastern and Central times zones more likely. FIFA has gradually moved back the kickoff time of the final from 12:30 p.m. PST to 7 a.m. PST for this year’s tournament, which is 10 p.m. in Beijing.
Notable
The National Women’s Soccer League announced today it has fined San Diego Wave FC head coach Casey Stoney and president Jill Ellis for approaching the officials during Wave FC matches on June 8 and June 12. No further details were announced.
OL Reign acquired the rights to forward Tobin Heath from Racing Louisville. The Reign signed Heath for the rest of the NWSL season, with an option for 2023. She will join the team next week. In exchange, Louisville received a second- and a fourth-round pick in next year’s NWSL draft and $50,000 in allocation money.