Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles among US cities attempting to host 2026 FIFA World Cup

A slowing down in the race to be one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was never on the cards but with the COVID-19 pandemic it was inevitable, however, the race is now back on. The 2026 World Cup is going to take place in the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada across 16 cities, which will host a total of 60 matches up until the final. It is the first time that three nations will be hosting the mega footballing event, Canada and Mexico will host 10 matches each and the rest will be in the US. In the US currently, 17 cities are trying to land the spot of host cities.

A couple of FIFA inspectors have been going around the US and checking out various stadiums and whether they're capable of handling a World Cup match. Recently, they were in Atlanta taking a look at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium which has a capacity of 72,000. It is the home stadium for the record-setting Major League Soccer team Atlanta United. FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, who also leads regional governing body CONCACAF, joked that Atlanta is now "a football city, as in the real football that is played globally."

Montagliani and Colin Smith, FIFA's chief tournament and events officer, have already been to Boston and Nashville and are expected to travel to Orlando, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Miami. Over the next two months, FIFA is expected to complete its site visits to the remaining cities, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, and Cincinnati.

Montreal withdraw their name as potential hosts

For the neighbouring countries, Mexico will put up Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City. Canada also put up three cities, Montreal, Toronto, and Edmonton but Montreal dropped out after the provincial government decided to against it owing to rising costs. Initially for the US 10 cities was the consensus however, after Montreal's withdrawal there could be an 11th. "There is never a stipulation of exactly how many we're going to have in each country," Montagliani told AP. "At the end of the day, we're going to make the best decision for the World Cup itself, whatever that number may be."

The stadium features a retractable roof and has hosted the Summer Olympics and the Super Bowl. They will, however, have to remove the artificial turf and replace it with a grass surface for the duration of the World Cup. That won't be an issue, according to Colin Smith, FIFA's chief tournament and events officer. "There's a lot (of) technology that exists these days," Smith told AP. "We just have to get it right."

The stadium is situated downtown is an added advantage

Atlanta hopes to capitalize on the location of the stadium being right in the centre of the city, unlike other prospective cities such as Dallas, Washington, Boston, and San Francisco where the stadiums are located in the suburbs. "It just creates an atmosphere," said Darren Eales to AP, president of MLS club Atlanta United, who was part of the city’s delegation on Friday. "I think the most memorable World Cups in the past have been in those cities where you have that stadium downtown." Taking a jab at competitors such as Boston and Dallas, Eales added, "You're in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing going on around those sites."

One potential bump in the road could be a new Georgia voting law that opponents have criticised and said is overly restrictive and discriminatory toward people of colour. Major League Baseball pulled this year's All-Star Game out of Atlanta after the decision was agreed upon. Like their peers at the International Olympic Committee, FIFA officials have never seemed too worried about the politics of a host city or country. Eales shrugged off the issue with a nervous laugh, saying "If FIFA makes that decision looking at the overall package of what Atlanta brings relative to the other cities, I'm pretty hopeful that Atlanta will be selected."

(With inputs from AP)

(Image: @MBStadium/Twitter/AP)