And then there were 32.
The United Bid Committee announced today the 32 cities across North America that could serve as Official Host Cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Vancouver is one of the four cities in Canada under consideration. There are also three cities in Mexico and 25 in the United States. The full list of cities is included below. The United Bid Committee also confirmed it will continue engaging with non-host cities in the further development of the united hosting concept.
“Having hosted every FIFA competition other than the FIFA World Cup™, Canada has built a strong foundation across the country from which we can now draw on as a member of the United 2026 bid,” said Steven Reed, United 2026 Board Member and Canada Soccer President. “Canada has proven itself to be a soccer nation and we are confident Canadians will come together to show, once again, the wonderful Canadian hospitality that has helped make each of our previous FIFA tournaments successful.”
During the next stage of the bid process, the United Bid Committee will integrate the 32 potential host cities into the united bid strategy and vision, as well as work with local officials to finalize the hosting documents required by FIFA. Representatives from the 32 potential host cities will travel to Houston, TX during the week of November 13th for a working session with the United Bid Committee team.
“The four Canadian cities, along with the 28 cities in Mexico and the United States, selected for the United 2026 Bid demonstrate the strength of a North American bid, with world-class facilities across three nations,” said Peter Montopoli, Canada Bid Director and Canada Soccer General Secretary. “The response from Canadian cities has been impressive and we are looking forward to working with our partners across the country as we move through the bid process to ensure as many Canadian cities are involved as possible. Once again, Canadians have shown support for soccer in this country and the desire to welcome soccer fans from around the world.”
The Official Host City selection process takes into account various factors such as city profile, stadium and support facilities (training sites, hotels) and services (e.g., transportation). The United Bid Committee also looked at ways each city could contribute to a united hosting strategy for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ including their contribution to the sport's development and the United Bid’s vision – not only during the tournament, but in the eight-year build up and the social, economic, and environmental legacy.
Each of the 32 potential host cities features existing or already planned stadiums and other world-class infrastructure, meeting or exceeding the requirements outlined by FIFA. Additionally, the potential host cities reflect the vast geographic and cultural diversity of North America and share a commitment to using the once-in-a-generation opportunity of hosting the FIFA World Cup™ to welcome, entertain, inspire and empower the next generation of players and fans as never before.
The United Bid Committee will also continue engaging with the nine cities that are not advancing to the next stage of the candidate host city process. Those cities, along with others, are being considered as possible locations for Team Base Camps or other competition-related events leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Further, if entrusted with the 2026 FIFA World Cup™, the United Bid Committee plans to work closely with FIFA to explore ways to extend the plans for fan engagement to include all communities across the three host countries – and is already encouraging business and civic leaders, fans, and others to contribute their new and innovative ideas to be integrated into the United Bid’s hosting concept.
Potential bid cities:
Canada
- Edmonton
- Montreal
- Toronto
- Vancouver
Mexico
- Guadalajara
- Mexico City
- Monterrey
United States
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Charlotte
- Cincinnati
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Houston
- Kansas City
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New York/New Jersey
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Salt Lake City
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Washington, D.C.
The following cities were not selected as host city candidates to be included as part of the United Bid: Birmingham, Alabama; Cleveland, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Ottawa, Ontario; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Regina, Saskatchewan; and San Antonio, Texas.
