The United States, Canada, and Mexico were selected today to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup by the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow on Wednesday. The vote marks the first occasion three nations have been selected to host a FIFA World Cup and it will be the first time the World Cup has been played in North American since 1994.
The North American joint proposal - also known as United 2026 - won out over a rival Moroccan bid with 134 votes over Morocco's 65.
"We are honored FIFA awarded the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the United Bid and even prouder that Los Angeles is among the 23 Candidate Host Cities that have the demonstrated history and ability to stage the world's largest sporting event," said Alan Rothenberg, Managing Member of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee in a statement.
"Los Angeles is excited about the opportunity to welcome an inclusive celebration of soccer that is the FIFA World Cup back to our city and are fully committed to working with the United Bid and FIFA to ensure the fans, players, and officials have a truly spectacular experience at the largest FIFA World Cup™ in history," said Rothenberg.
Los Angeles' bid to become a Host City was a joint submission by the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission along with AEG and LA Galaxy, Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park, Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, Banc of California Stadium, and the Los Angeles Football Club.
Other host cities under consideration in the United States include: San Francisco, Houston, Denver, Seattle, New York/New Jersey, and Miami. In all 16 host cities will be selected out of the 23 submitted candidates in North America.
The three nations will now sit down and work together in choosing which cities and venues across the three nations from 23 candidates proposed in the United Bid.
"Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup is a rare and important moment to demonstrate that we are all truly united through sport," said Carlos Cordeiro, President of U.S. Soccer and Co-Chair of the United Bid. ‘We are humbled by the trust our colleagues in the FIFA family have put in our bid; strengthened by the unity between our three countries and the CONCACAF region; and excited by the opportunity we have to put football on a new and sustainable path for generations to come."
Mayor Garcetti tweeted his excitement about Los Angeles possibly hosting the World Cup saying that he couldn't wait to show off the city to FIFA officials.
President Donald Trump expressed his congratulations to the United 2026 bid following the new this morning with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto also expressing their pleasure at the news.
A full list of cities under consideration for hosting the World Cup are listed below:
CANADA
- Edmonton
- Montreal
- Toronto
MEXICO
- Guadalajara
- Mexico City
- Monterrey
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
- Washington, D.C.
Photo: Getty Images