The 16 cities of the first World Cup spread across three nations were revealed, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a bold statement summing up the goal of the 2026 tournament, to be played largely in the United States. ()
바카라By 2026, soccer 바카라 or futbol 바카라 will be the No. 1 sport in this part of the world,바카라 he proclaimed.
Roughly four years before soccer바카라s showcase comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, there already were winners and losers Thursday: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were among the cities picked after missing out on hosting the 1994 tournament.
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, missed the cut.
Eleven U.S. stadiums were picked, all from the NFL. Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California, were holdover areas from the 1994 tournament that boosted soccer바카라s American prominence.
Mexico City바카라s Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and 바카라86 finals, will become the first stadium in three World Cups, selected along with Guadalajara바카라s Estadio Akron and Monterrey바카라s Estadio BBVA.
Toronto바카라s BMO Field and Vancouver, British Columbia바카라s BC Place were picked for Canada바카라s first time hosting, while Edmonton, Alberta바카라s Commonwealth Stadium was dropped.
Following the withdrawl of outmoded FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, Baltimore바카라s omission means this will be a rare World Cup with no matches in the vicinity of a host바카라s capital.
바카라You can바카라t imagine a World Cup coming to the U.S., the capital city not taking a major role,바카라 said Colin Smith, FIFA바카라s chief competitions and events officer.
Infantino promised a fan fest on Washington바카라s National Mall, and locations across the three nations are in play for training sites.
바카라The story is always who doesn바카라t get chosen,바카라 U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone said.
Infantino바카라s goal of reaching the top of U.S. sports appears to be quite a reach. The NFL averaged 17.1 million viewers for television and digital during its 2021 season, while the 2018 World Cup averaged 5.04 million on U.S. English- and Spanish-language TV.
바카라You are leading the world in many areas,바카라 Infantino said about North America, 바카라the objective must be that you will be leading the world, as well, in the world바카라s No. 1 sport.바카라
바카라I know it was giggles and laughs,바카라 Canada Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani said. 바카라He wasn바카라t joking.바카라
Infantino defended FIFA바카라s financial demands on bidding cities and states, which included sales tax exemptions. He said World Cup revenue supports FIFA바카라s 211 members and 75% could not sustain operations without the money.
바카라This is something which is definitely a fair compromise, taking into the account the interest of sport and the interests of the host countries,바카라 he said.
The 1994 tournament set records with a 3.59 million total attendance and average of 68,991. The capacities of the U.S. stadiums for 2026 are all 60,000 and higher.
바카라I think this part of the world doesn바카라t realize what will happen here in 2026,바카라 Infantino said. 바카라These three countries will be upside down. The world will be invading Canada, Mexico and the United States.바카라
The bid plan selected in 2018 envisioned 60 games in the U.S. for the first 48-nation Cup, including all from the quarterfinals on, and 10 each in Mexico and Canada.
Specific sites for each round will be announced later, and Infantino said world-wide television times will be a factor for the final, which makes the Eastern and Central times zones more likely. FIFA has gradually moved back the kickoff time of the final from 3:30 p.m. EDT to 10 a.m. EDT for this year바카라s tournament, which is 10 p.m. in Beijing.
The U.S. selections included none of the nine stadiums used in 1994. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and Orlando바카라s Camping World Stadium were the only ones remaining in contention, and they were among the sites dropped in negotiations with stadiums and cities and continued until right before the announcement.
New stadiums were selected in five areas used in 1994. AT&T Stadium in Texas replaced Dallas바카라 Cotton Bowl, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood took over for the Rose Bowl and Levi바카라s Stadium instead of Stanford Stadium.
Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, replaced torn-down stadiums that were adjacent, Giants Stadium and Foxboro Stadium.
Three U.S. venues have retractable roofs and Atlanta has a fixed roof. All of the U.S. stadiums but Miami and Kansas City opened in 2002 or later.
Venues have a broader array of pricey seats than in 1994 바카라 the bid book listed a total of 3,757 luxury suites and 76,317 club seats, even before the opening of SoFi, which hosted this year바카라s Super Bowl.
Eight of the 11 U.S. stadiums have artificial turf and promised to install temporary grass. Dietmar Exler, chief operating officer of AMB Sports & Entertainment, whose NFL Falcons and Major League Soccer team play at Mercedes-Benz, said growing lamps will be used.
바카라We will study very carefully with FIFA how we can handle and make sure we have the best natural turf available,바카라 he said. 바카라That바카라s one of the high priority areas for us to focus on.바카라
Some venues, notably SoFi, cannot currently fit a 68-x-105 meter (75x-115 yard) field and would need renovations to remove seats near sidelines. FIFA made similar demands ahead of 1994 but backed off and allowed some narrower surfaces.
바카라We have to move out some of the pinch points,바카라 Smith said. 바카라It doesn바카라t have any material aspect on capacity.바카라
The Detroit area, where the old Pontiac Silverdome hosted games, was cut in 2018 and Baltimore바카라s M&T Bank Stadium was the capital area바카라s contender after FedEx dropped out in April. Washington바카라s RFK Stadium was used in 1994.
Chicago, which hosted the 1994 opener at Solider Field, refused to bid, citing FIFA바카라s demands.
In contrast to the 1992 site announcement during a news conference, the 2026 announcement was made during a show broadcast from Fox바카라s studio in Manhattan.
바카라It바카라s grown so much in my lifetime,바카라 U.S. star Christian Pulisic said, 바카라and I바카라m hoping that it can even take that next step.바카라
