The 2026 World Cup, which will be largely held in the United States, has revealed the 16 cities across three nations that will host the tournament. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has boldly proclaimed that soccer will be the number one sport in this part of the world by 2026. Among the winners of the bidding process are Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Kansas City, Missouri, all of which missed out on hosting the 1994 tournament. However, cities such as Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, did not make the cut.
A total of 11 US stadiums have been selected, all of which are from the NFL, including Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts; and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California. Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, which previously hosted the finals in 1970 and 1986, has been chosen as one of the stadiums, alongside Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron and Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA.
Toronto’s BMO Field and Vancouver’s B.C. Place have been picked, while Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium has been dropped. Baltimore’s omission means that this will be the first World Cup without matches near the host capital. FIFA’s chief competitions and events officer, Colin Smith, expressed surprise at this decision, stating that it’s difficult to imagine a World Cup in the US without a major role for the capital city.
Infantino has promised a fan fest on Washington’s National Mall, and training sites across the three nations are being considered. The US Soccer Federation President, Cindy Parlow Cone, acknowledged that the focus is often on the cities that didn’t get chosen. However, Infantino’s goal of making soccer the number one sport in the US may be challenging, considering the significantly higher average viewership for the NFL compared to the 2018 World Cup.
Infantino defended FIFA’s financial demands on bidding cities and states, including sales tax exemptions, stating that the revenue generated from the World Cup supports FIFA’s members, without which many would struggle to sustain their operations. The 1994 tournament set attendance records, and the selected US stadiums for 2026 all have capacities of 60,000 or more.
Infantino believes that the 2026 World Cup will have a significant impact on the three host nations, with people from all over the world converging on Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The bid plan includes 60 games in the US, including all from the quarterfinals onwards, and 10 games each in Mexico and Canada.
The specific sites for each round of the 2026 World Cup will be announced at a later date. FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that worldwide television times will be a factor in determining the final’s kickoff time, making the Eastern and Central time zones more likely. The final has gradually been moved to earlier kick-off times, with this year’s tournament starting at 10 a.m. EDT, which corresponds to 10 p.m. in Beijing.
The selected cities in the United States do not include any of the nine stadiums used in the 1994 World Cup. Only the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and Orlando’s Camping World Stadium were still in contention but were ultimately dropped in the negotiations. New stadiums have been chosen in five areas that were used in 1994. AT&T Stadium in Texas replaced Dallas’ Cotton Bowl, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood replaced the Rose Bowl, and Levi’s Stadium replaced Stanford Stadium. Met Life Stadium in New Jersey and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts replaced the torn-down Giants Stadium and Foxboro Stadium, respectively.
Three US venues have retractable roofs, and Atlanta’s stadium has a fixed roof. All of the US stadiums, except for Miami and Kansas City, were opened in 2002 or later. The venues now have more premium seating options, with a total of 3,757 luxury suites and 76,317 club seats listed in the bid book. Temporary grass will be installed in the stadiums with artificial turf. Some venues, like SoFi Stadium, may need renovations to accommodate a regulation-sized field, but it will not affect their capacity.
The Detroit area, which was the location of the old Pontiac Silverdome in 1994, was cut from the 2026 bid. Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium became the capital area’s contender after FedEx Field withdrew its bid. Washington’s RFK Stadium, which was used in 1994, was not included in the bid.
Chicago declined to bid for the 2026 World Cup due to FIFA’s demands. In contrast to the 1992 site announcement during a news conference, the 2026 announcement was made during a broadcast from Fox’s studio in Manhattan.
US soccer star Christian Pulisic expressed his hope that the sport will continue to grow and take the next step in the United States.