On Wednesday, June 13th, it was announced that the FIFA World Cup would be returning to North America for the men's 2026 games. In a joint bid between the United States, Mexico, and Canada the three nations were able to beat out Morocco in a landslide victory. This will be the first time since 1994 the USA has hosted the men's FIFA World Cup. The women last hosted in 2004. The joint victory is now going by the name "United 2026" and won with 134 votes compared to Morocco's 65 votes. "United 2026" will be the first host ever to feature 48 teams; a stark difference from the usual 32 teams allowed to compete.
This win comes hot off the heels of the scandal of the World Cup 2022 which is still being investigated. There were rumors in 2011 that claimed that high up World Cup officials were being paid to vote for the Qatar bid over the United States. That statement was later retracted but in 2014 the FBI looked into committee member, Jack Warner, after it looked as if he had accepted bribe money. Several other issues were pointed out mainly dealing with politics and cultural issues currently taking place in Qatar.
There will be sixteen host cities, with the final being played at the Met Life Stadium in New York City. Mexico and Canada are each hosting in three cities, while the United States will host in ten different cities. Three big USA cities have already dropped out of hosting: Chicago, Tampa, and Minneapolis over fears of cost. Vancouver in Canada also dropped out. A few US cities that might host would include but are not limited to: Washington, D.C., Dallas, New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle, Nashville, Orlando, Kansas, and Baltimore. The list must be narrowed down by 2021.
The FIFA Men's World Cup 2018 begins Friday, June 15th. The USA did not qualify. Here's hoping they can clean up the team in order to qualify for the both the 2022 and "United 2026" games.
