Industry News

United 2026 settles on bid cities for World Cup

The United 2026 bid for the Fifa World Cup has cut a further nine cities from its proposed vision for the national team football tournament, with only two stadia from the United States’ hosting of the 1994 event remaining in place.

United 2026, which comprises the United States, Canada and Mexico, made the announcement ahead of submitting its bid book to world football’s governing body today (Friday). If the 2026 World Cup is awarded to the United bid, Fifa will select up to 16 host cities from the proposed 23.

The cities removed from the last update provided by United 2026 in October are the US cities of Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tampa. The Canadian city of Vancouver has also exited contention.

The chosen US cities are: Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Cincinnati; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Kansas City; Los Angeles; Miami; Nashville; New York/New Jersey; Orlando, Philadelphia; San Francisco Bay Area; Seattle and Washington D.C. This means that only two venues remain from the United States’ hosting of the 1994 World Cup – the Rose Bowl (pictured) in Pasadena, Los Angeles County and the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

The proposed Canadian cities for the World Cup are Edmonton; Montreal and Toronto; while Mexico’s are Guadalajara; Mexico City and Monterrey.

United 2026 said that the number and diversity of cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States represent the most comprehensive and far-reaching hosting strategy ever developed for a major sporting event.

The bid team added that no new stadium construction will be required, with all venues having an average capacity of 68,000. The United Bid’s hosting vision and strategy projects more than 5.8 million tickets will be sold, generating in excess of $2bn (£1.43bn/€1.62bn) in ticketing revenue.

“Canada, Mexico, and the United States have joined together to deliver a United Bid that offers Fifa and its member associations the power of unity, the promise of certainty, and the potential of extraordinary opportunity,” John Kristick, executive director of the United Bid, said.

“We are confident that the combination of our 23 existing world-class stadiums, 150 existing elite training facilities, and our modern and interconnected transportation network can help Fifa to achieve new records for attendance and revenue, which will allow the entire global football community to improve and grow.”

United 2026 is facing competition from a sole proposal by Morocco. Fifa will award hosting rights for the tournament on June 13, ahead of the start of this year’s World Cup in Russia.

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