North America Announced as the Host of the 2026 World Cup
by Richard D’Ambrosio
The 2014 World Cup lead to a record number of visitors to Brazi
The U.S., Canada, and Mexico have been selected to collectively host the 2026 World Cup, what is expected to be the largest in the history of the event.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) selected the joint bid from the three countries today, outbidding Morocco. The U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994, while Mexico did so in 1986. Canada has never hosted World Cup games.
It is expected the finals will be held at the 87,000-seat MetLife Stadium, in Rutherford, N.J., just outside New York City.
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While the three countries considered the proposal a “joint bid,” in fact, 60 of the 80 matches will be played in the U.S. The 2026 World Cup will be the first to include the new 48-team format.
According to Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, the 2014 World Cup brought a record 6.5 million visitors to Brazil during that year, the first time the country had ever surpassed 6 million annual visitors. Sao Paolo alone, the main entry point for those visitors, had 2,219,917 tourist come through the city.
The 2018 games are set to begin this week in Russia, and the 2022 games will be held in Qatar.
The 2018 World Cup will kick off this week in Russia. Photo: Caromai / Shutterstock.com.
