Philadelphia makes pitch to host World Cup in ‘26

PHILADELPHIA >> On the day that the U.S. women’s team played its Round of 16 match at the World Cup in France, on the week that the U.S. men’s team would return to town for the Gold Cup, the time to look ahead seemed right to those involved in Philadelphia’s bid to bring the 2026 men’s World Cup to town.

The 1994 World Cup bypassed Philadelphia among its nine host cities. But with the field expanding to 42 teams in 2026 when the U.S. hosts with Canada and Mexico, Philadelphia has shown itself to be a prized sporting destination — including for the 2003 women’s World Cup. With the announcement of a marketing campaign and the seed of a bid committee Monday, Philadelphia is positioning itself to be one of the 16 American cities that host games in 2026.

“We are a city that loves big events, we thrive on them, we know how to execute on them and we give all our visitors, players, press a fantastic experience in this city,” said Comcast Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer David L. Cohen, who was named the chairman of the city’s bid committee. “That is what our sales pitch is going to be, plain and simple.”

Monday’s press conference at Lincoln Financial Field brought together a smattering of the stakeholders that will drive the World Cup effort, including Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, leadership from the Philadelphia Eagles and Union, and other business and community leaders. The quest for hosting rights will include those and

many more stakeholders, and the involvement of Cohen and Comcast (which holds a vested interest in World Cup success via television and sponsorship rights) shows that big business interests are behind the effort.

Kenney and others cited the city’s recent history with large events — like the 2016 Democratic National Convention, 2017 NFL Draft and 2015 World Meeting of Families involving Pope Francis — as precedent of what the city can do. With the World Cup coinciding with America’s 250th birthday, hopes are high that Philadelphia can merge the celebrations.

“This is not a one-man or one-stakeholder effort,” Cohen said. “This is going to work for Philadelphia because of all the fantastic partners we have — you’ve heard a lot of them mentioned and we’re going to need more. And that’s what this city is great at, bringing the whole city together, every stakeholder, to get behind a bid to host a major event.”

“Our job collectively moving forward will be to share our story with FIFA and the world and be sure that they understand why we continue to have so much success as a destination, and why would they choose any other destination?,” said Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau president and CEO Julie Coker Graham. “Philadelphia has an incredibly collaborative and motivated spirit that never stops delivering for our customers and our visitors.”

Kenney and others highlighted the progress made at both ends of the spectrum, from the corporate entities to bottom-up advocacy. The crowd included kids and volunteers from a number of local clubs as well as participants in the Unity Cup, a city-led initiative for an annual World Cup-style tournament in which the area’s vast immigrant population represent their heritages.

“In a time of hateful rhetoric against our immigrant communities, we’re especially proud to be a city that opens its arms to people from all around the world,” Kenney said.

The messaging of the World Cup bid will take handled by Playmakers Studio, led by president Mark Gonzalez. The branding and creative agency based in Wayne is funded by Union minority owner Richie Graham; it includes Gonzalez, who has a track record directing projects for large corporations like Under Armour, and Ryan Mooney, the former Chief Soccer Officer of the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Monday’s meeting included the reveal of logos for the campaign and the slogan, “Bring It.”

“The game of soccer will never be the same, not just on the road to 2026 but beyond,” Gonzalez said. “The players, the fans, the culture, they will continue to develop, and we believe that Philadelphia’s not just part of the growth but a catalyst to make that growth happen. Being a host city will be the ultimate acknowledgement to the city’s history and commitment around the most popular sport in the world.”

The last World Cup hosted in the U.S. accelerated the growth of soccer in the States exponentially, taking a sport siloed into pockets — the youth of the wealthy suburbs, the immigrant enclaves of cities — and helping it blossom. That holistic development was on display in the dozens of kids who took the chance Monday for a brief kickaround on the turf at the Linc.

Philadelphia enjoyed the growth despite the tournament missing the city in 1994. A chance to bring the World Cup directly to the vibrant community 32 years later would compound growth that has been bubbling away for years.

“The opportunity to host games here now, that just takes the trajectory even higher,” said Chris Branscome, the CEO of Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association. “The things that we can do in terms of the sport and for the community, hosting a World Cup, there’s just nothing bigger in our sport. So the imagination on what we can do, it’s just a wide open opportunity for all of us. It’s exciting that it’s us, it’s the Union, it’s the city and soccer is just going to be elevated in the minds of everybody. We’re no longer that sport that was just sitting in the background, that the immigrants played or the old neighborhoods of the Northeast (Philly) and certain pockets of the suburbs. Soccer pervades all of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley now, and this is just going to blow it up.”