13 Jun 2018
Breaking: US, Canada and Mexico to host FIFA 2026 World Cup
BY Tom Walker
A joint bid by Mexico, Canada and the US has been selected to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup, following a vote by the FIFA Congress today.
The trio beat a rival bid from Morocco in the final vote, which will see the World Cup being held in the US for the second time.
The 2026 event will mark the third time that Mexico will act as host nation, following the 1970 and 1986 World Cups.
In final voting, the joint bid secured 134 votes, or 67 per cent, with Morocco securing 65 votes (33 per cent).
The result of the vote is considered no surprise.
Reports prior to the vote suggest that Fifa’s task force, which inspected each bid across a range of infrastructural and commercial elements, gave the North American bid a score of 402.8 out of 500 – compared to 274.9 for Morocco.
The North American bid also promises to generate a profit of £8.1bn for Fifa, roughly twice the income predicted from a Morocco event (£4.48bn).
“Hosting the 2026 Fifa World Cup is a rare and important moment to demonstrate that we are all truly united through sport,” US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro said.
“We are humbled by the trust our colleagues in the Fifa family have put in our bid; strengthened by the unity between our three countries and the Concacaf region; and excited by the opportunity we have to put football on a new and sustainable path for generations to come.”
Cordeiro's words were carefully picked to portray that in football, at least, there is an amicable working relationship between the US and Mexico. The joint bid process had been overshadowed by US president Donald Trump's insistence to pursue plans to build a wall between the two countries – an issue which led to a well-publicised campaign in Mexico for the country to pull out of the bidding process in protest.
Decio de María, president of the Mexico Football Federation, promised that the jointly hosted tournament – the first time more than two countries will act as hosts – will "show the way for future events".
“Together – in partnership with our candidate host cities, the Member Associations, and Fifa – we will use this platform to unite the world around football and help create a new and sustainable blueprint for the future of Fifa World Cups," de Maria said.
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