Unlike ’94, South Florida seems destined to host games in 2026
‘It’s a slam dunk,’ as baseball not a conflict, Robbie says.
DAVIE — There’s no guarantee South Florida became a World Cup destination Wednesday. But it’s about as close as you can get.
FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, overwhelmingly voted to bring the World Cup back to the United States in 2026, choosing a joint bid with Mexico and Canada for the 2026 tournament. North America received 134 votes to Morocco’s 65.
The Dolphins’ home of Hard Rock Stadium figured prominently in the winning bid, and although Miami was bypassed when the World Cup came to the United States in 1994, South Florida’s soccer community is brimming with confidence it won’t be jilted again.
“I think it’s a slam dunk,” said Tim Robbie, former general manager of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers whose father, Dolphins founder Joe Robbie, built the stadium with World Cup matches as a dream. “The only impediment the last time, in ’94, was the Marlins. That prevented us from getting games because of baseball. Now that there’s no conflict, I think it’s a lock that we’ll have games in South Florida.”
The “United 2026 bid,” as it was called, involves 23 hopeful stadiums in 23 cities in North America, but 60 of the 80 matches — including everything from the quarterfinals on — are expected to be in the United States. FIFA expects to select 16 sites in 2020 or 2021.
The highest-level match Hard Rock Stadium is seeking is a quarterfinal or thirdplace match. Areas that bid for the final all have considerably larger venues than Hard Rock’s capacity of 67,518 for World Cup matches.
The 2026 tournament will have 48 teams instead of the current 32. Although host countries traditionally receive an automatic berth, the tri-country bid is a first and FIFA has not determined if all three countries will be extended that courtesy.
From South Florida’s perspective, it can’t hurt Hard Rock’s odds that the new president of the U.S. Soccer Federation is Carlos Cordeiro, a Miamian. “Obviously Miami is very special to me, being my hometown,” Cordeiro told reporters on a conference call from Russia, where this year’s World Cup kicks off today. “In fact, the beaches factor prominently in some of our slides.”
Although Cordeiro said narrowing down the candidate stadiums in the United States from 17 to 12 “is going to be very, very hard,” the biased view among South Floridians is that one choice should be easy. Tom Mulroy, a longtime soccer promoter and member of the bid committees for both 1994 and 2026, said his wife woke up to find him crying on the couch.
“She goes, ‘Are you all right?’ ” Mulroy said. “I said, ‘We just got the Cup.’ ”
Mulroy, who plans to attend his ninth World Cup final this summer, has no doubt South Florida will be chosen now that the Marlins have their own ballpark. Comparing ’94 to now, Mulroy said, “FIFA said, ‘You’ve got two stadiums and you’re offering us the Orange Bowl instead of that stadium? Stick it in your ear, my friend.’ They ain’t gonna stop it now. I fully in my heart believe we will get games in that spaceship that landed (Hard Rock). That’s one of the best places in the world to watch a soccer game.”
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross recently pumped a half-billion dollars into stadium renovations, including a canopy, to help secure the 2020 Super Bowl and events such as the World Cup. Tom Garfinkel, president and CEO of the Dolphins, measured his comments to avoid sounding overconfident, but he’s clearly optimistic, acknowledging a “very positive” vibe he received while giving FIFA reps a tour.
“What I can say is with the stadium renovated now the way it is, I think it is truly a global entertainment destination,” Garfinkel said.
Mulroy noted that the announcement came despite escalating political tensions between the United States and its two bordering neighbors.
“I’m super proud we sat down with our neighbors and did it,” Mulroy said. “Because that’s what soccer’s about. It’s about two guys who don’t speak the same language kicking a ball around in a park.”