FIFA plans to finalise 16 host cities for 2026 World Cup in North America by late 2021

On Tuesday, FIFA set a new target of finalizing the North American host cities for the 2026 World Cup subject to any restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are currently 23 candidate host cities for the grand tournament in 2026, with games to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, FIFA has revealed that it could confirm the 16 host cities for the World Cup 2026 - which will be the first-ever edition of the competition to feature 48 countries - by later this year.

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FIFA 2026 World Cup: FIFA announces timeline to select host cities

The 23 host cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America are expected to be narrowed down to 16 by the end of 2021. Earlier on Tuesday, FIFA announced the timeline and outlined the factors based on selecting the host cities for the World Cup in 2026.

FIFA and the host associations will organize virtual one-on-one meetings with each stadium to discuss infrastructural aspects from the end of February 2021 onwards. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the selection process but FIFA and the host associations plan to start targeted virtual discussions with each candidate host city in April. In July, FIFA and the host associations will aim to start venue visits for the host cities. 

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The FIFA officials will visit 17 cities in the United States and three each in Canada and Mexico. However, the visits will only take place if the health and safety situation in the host countries allows FIFA to do so. The COVID-19 crises in North America has only worsened over the past few weeks.

Upon completing the venue visits, FIFA and the host associations aim to have the host cities appointed by the FIFA Council in the last quarter of 2021. Here is the list of the 23 candidate host cities:

• Edmonton
• Montreal
• Toronto
• Guadalajara
• Mexico City
• Monterrey
• Atlanta
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Cincinnati
• Dallas
• Denver
• Houston
• Kansas City
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Nashville
• "New York/New Jersey"
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• "San Franisco Bay Area"
• Seattle
• Washington

The first World Cup with 48 teams will have 80 games instead of the regular 64. The plan is for Canada and Mexico to host 10 games each with the USA hosting 60, including all games from the quarterfinals onward. Most of the venues in the United States will be NFL stadiums, with the MetLife Stadium expected to host the final on July 12, 2026.

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Image Credits - FIFA.COM