U.S., Mexico, Canada to compete with Morocco to host 2026 World Cup

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The United Bid of the United States, Mexico and Canada will be competing against Morocco for the opportunity to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup after FIFA announced earlier today that the African country has officially submitted their intention to participate in process. The deadline for Member Associations to inform FIFA of their intention to bid was today.

“We’ve always been prepared for the fact that other countries could also decide to bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “Competition is good, and overall it shows the value and importance of the World Cup. We’re excited to prepare a bid that will demonstrate to FIFA that the first World Cup to be held in the CONCACAF region since 1994 should be awarded to Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Over the next eight months we’ve got a lot of work to do. The United Bid Committee has already started that work, and we will now go into full motion with our team in New York, in collaborations with our partners in Canada and Mexico.

Next week we will provide an update on the number of cities that are interested in being part of the World Cup in 2026 across all three countries, and we’ll continue to put together a bid that will meet and exceed the final regulations and specifications required by FIFA.”

All bidders must now submit their proposal for consideration by FIFA by the deadline of March 16, 2018. A decision on whether to select one of the bidders will be taken at the FIFA Congress to be convened next June.

The United States, Mexico and Canada have hosted a combined 13 FIFA World Cups (men’s, women and youth), more than any other trio of geographically-connected nations, and set attendance records for five of those events. The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the first with the expanded 48-team format, requiring facilities and infrastructure that these countries are uniquely suited to fulfill.

The United Bid Committee kicked off its efforts in July by announcing the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team that includes Executive Director John Kristick, Managing Director of Technical Operations Jim Brown, Canada Bid Director Peter Montopoli, who is the Canada Soccer General Secretary, and Mexico Bid Director Yon De Luisa, who is a Televisa Vice President.

The United Bid Committee’s Board of Directors includes Sunil Gulati (Chairman), Steven Reed (Canada), Peter Montopoli (Canada), Decio De Maria (Mexico), Guillermo Cantu (Mexico), Carlos Cordeiro (USA), Donna Shalala (USA), Dan Flynn (USA), Don Garber (USA), Carlos Bocanegra (USA), Julie Foudy (USA), Ed Foster-Simeon (USA) and Victor Montagliani (CONCACAF). Legendary sports executive Robert Kraft has been appointed as Honorary Chairman of the Board.