World Cup 2026: FIFA reveals record 16 host cities and stadiums

(*16*)We now know which cities and stadiums within the United States, Canada and Mexico will host video games to the 2026 World Cup.

(*16*)At a gala, globally televised presentation Thursday from Rockefeller Center in New York City, FIFA revealed the 16 successful municipalities and venues within the three North American international locations.

(*16*)The checklist breaks down as follows:

(*16*)Canada
* Toronto (BMO Field)  
* Vancouver (BC Place) 

(*16*)Mexico
* Guadalajara (Estadio Akron) 
* Mexico City (Estadio Azteca)  
* Monterrey (Estadio BBVA) 

(*16*)United States
* Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) 
* Boston (Gillette Stadium) 
* Dallas (AT&T Stadium)  
* Houston (NRG Stadium) 
* Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium) 
* Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)  
* Miami (Hard Rock Stadium) 
* New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium) 
* Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field) 
* San Francisco/Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium) 
* Seattle (Lumen Field)  

(*16*)Why are these the picks?  

(*16*)The 16 venues are probably the most ever for a single World Cup, which is sensible. Expanding from 32 to 48 groups after Qatar 2022 this fall, the 2026 occasion would be the largest ever and first to be collectively hosted by three nations. The final time the event was held in North America, solely 9 cities held video games.

(*16*)For 2026, three cities bid from Mexico. Guadalajara and Monterrey have each constructed state-of-the-art stadiums lately. Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the primary stadium to stage two World Cup finals, in 1970 and 1986, is without doubt one of the sport’s true cathedrals. Four summers from now, it would grow to be the primary to host video games in three tournaments.

(*16*)Three Canadian cities had been within the operating, however ultimately, solely Toronto and Vancouver had been chosen, with Edmonton lacking out. Vancouver got here again into the combination after Montreal, Canada’s second-largest metropolis, dropped out of the operating final summer time. Vancouver memorably hosted the finale of the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

(*16*)Who missed the minimize?

(*16*)In the U.S., Baltimore/Washington D.C, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville and Orlando had been handed over.  

(*16*)The huge shock was Boston over the bid from Baltimore/ D.C. In the tip, the nation’s capital’s efforts may need been harm by logistics. After FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, dropped out of the operating in April and merged with Baltimore’s bid, the plan was to have groups prepare in D.C. however play matches greater than 40 minutes away.

(*16*)Meanwhile, Boston probabilities may’ve been boosted by the truth that Robert Kraft, an unique investor in Major League Soccer (and the proprietor of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts) who is also shut with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, was the general public face of their tender.  

(*16*)Chicago, the third-largest American metropolis by inhabitants after New York and Los Angeles, declined to bid. The longtime residence of the U.S. Soccer Federation was the location of the World Cup opener in 1994.

(*16*)Why are some cities/venues clustered collectively?  

(*16*)Given the record-breaking dimension and scope of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA wished the venues it selected to be in relative proximity to 1 one other to ease journey for followers and groups, a number of sources advised FOX Sports.

(*16*)With 80 video games in all, that technique is sensible. A metropolis similar to Seattle was helped by the truth that Vancouver is simply hours away by automobile. Same goes for Dallas and Houston and for the three picks alongside the northeast hall, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey and Boston. Toronto is an hour flight from all of these, with Atlanta and Miami representing the southeast.

(*16*)Even Thursday’s presentation was damaged into areas. There are 4 host cities alongside the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada, and Guadalajara is in western Mexico. Monterrey, the 2 Texan reps and Kansas City — which absolutely benefited from Chicago’s absence — are clustered within the center a part of the continent. 

(*16*)One of the main soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has lined United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at a number of FIFA World Cups. Before becoming a member of FOX Sports in 2021, he was a employees author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.