FIFA concludes inspection of potential venues for the 2026 World Cup

FIFA, the governing body of world football, has concluded a field visit to potential venues for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. It will stop in Toronto on Monday and said it expects to make a decision on the city in April.

After inspecting 22 cities and 23 venues, the FIFA delegation will now submit a report from which 16 hosts will be selected, although FIFA’s chief tournament and tournament official Colin Smith said that this number is not static. .

Smith said at a lunchtime media conference held on the top floor of a hotel in downtown Toronto: “16 of them were referenced when bidding. We have noticed, but in the end it depends on FIFA.” “We will end these visits, and then we will decide. The most suitable number of people required to host the competition.

“We haven’t determined the exact time (announced by the venue), but I suspect that April is more likely than March.

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Toronto and Edmonton are the two Canadian cities bidding for the competition, while Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City are Mexico’s candidate cities.

As the 2026 World Cup expands to a record 48 teams, the joint bid requires Canada and Mexico to each win 10 games, and the rest will go to the United States.

Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington DC are all potential U.S. venues.

The FIFA delegation inspected everything from infrastructure to legacy projects to stadiums and training facilities.

“In general, we are very satisfied with the quality of the presentation,” Smith said. “This is a very competitive process that will make our decision more difficult.”

Vancouver is the site of the 2015 Women’s World Cup finals. Recently, it has expressed interest in participating in the World Cup. It is recommended to pour cold water.

“I know the Governor of British Columbia (John Horgan) expressed some interest, which is good,” said Montagliani, Smith, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ontario Minister of Sports Heritage Lisa McLeod (Lisa MacLeod) also joined the main table, travel and culture. “But now we are dealing with players we have, not players who are not on the team.”