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NEW YORK (AP) – The 16 cities of the first World Cup, spread across three nations, have been unveiled and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a bold statement summarizing the goal of the 2026 tournament, which will be largely played in the United States shall be.
“By 2026, futbol – soccer – will be the #1 sport in this country,” he announced.
About four years before soccer’s showcase comes to the United States, Mexico and Canada, there were already winners and losers as of Thursday: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri were selected after missing out, to host the 1994 tournament.
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee and Orlando, Florida missed the cut.
Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, NJ; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California were remnants of the 1994 tournament that enhanced football’s American prominence.
Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, site of the 1970 and 1986 finals and the first stadium in three World Cups, was selected along with Estadio Akron in Guadalajara and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey.
BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia were chosen while Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta was dropped.
Following the withdrawal of the outdated FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, the omission of Baltimore means this will be the first World Cup without games near a host’s capital, though Infantino promised a fan fest at Washington’s National Mall.
“The story is always who doesn’t get selected,” said Cindy Parlow Cone, president of the US Soccer Association.
Infantino’s goal of reaching the top of US esports seems pretty far-fetched. The NFL averaged 17.1 million television and digital viewers during its 2021 season, while the 2018 World Cup averaged 5.04 million on English- and Spanish-language US television.
“I know it was giggles and laughter,” said Football Canada President Victor Montagliani of the reaction to Infantino. “He wasn’t joking.”
The 1994 tournament set records with 3.59 million visitors and an average of 68,991. The 11 US stadium capacities for 2026 are all 60,000 and up.
“Getting much, much, much bigger,” Infantino said. “I think this part of the world doesn’t know what’s going to happen here in 2026. These three countries will be upside down. The world will invade Canada, Mexico and the United States.”
The bidding schedule called for 60 games in the United States, including all quarterfinals and later, and 10 each in Mexico and Canada.
Specific locations for each round will be announced later, and Infantino said global television timings were a factor in the finale, making Eastern and Central time zones more likely. FIFA has gradually moved the final kick-off time for this year’s tournament, which takes place in Beijing at 10:00 p.m. EDT, from 3:30 p.m. EDT to 10:00 a.m. EDT.
The US selection did not include any of the nine stadiums used at the 1994 World Cup. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and Camping World Stadium in Orlando were the only ones still contested, and they were among the sites dropped in the finals.
New stadiums were selected in five areas used in 1994. AT&T Stadium in Texas replaced Dallas’ Cotton Bowl; SoFi Stadium in Inglewood took over from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena; and Levi’s Stadium instead of Stanford Stadium.
Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Masschusetts replaced adjacent demolished stadiums Giants Stadium and Foxboro Stadium.
Orlando’s Camping World was removed from existing venues in 1994. The Detroit area that hosted games at the old Pontiac Silverdome was trimmed in 2018, and Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium was dropped after FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland was out. RFK Stadium in Washington was used in 1994.
Chicago, which hosted the inaugural game at Solider Field in 1994, refused to bid, citing FIFA’s economic demands.
In contrast to the 1992 location announcement during a press conference, the 2026 announcement was made during a television broadcast from Fox’s Manhattan studio.
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