Edmonton soccer fans are not happy about FIFA's World Cup snub

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Soccer fans in Edmonton are not impressed the city was not chosen as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA revealed 16 World Cup host cities in North America for the 2026 tournament on Thursday afternoon. Toronto and Vancouver were the only Canadian cities chosen, leaving Edmonton out.

The mayor of Edmonton and minister of culture also expressed their disappointment that Edmonton was not selected, joining many fans in the process.

“Today, I am disappointed to announce that Edmonton was not successful in our bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2026”, Mayor Sohi said in a news release and on Twitter.

“We advocated fiercely, we had our provincial and federal government partners on board to provide funding, and most of all, we had the support of Edmontonians,” he added.

Many fans in YEG echoed that sentiment.

Edmonton, they hands down would have had the best atmosphere no matter the game.

— Trav (@tmarcotte19) June 16, 2022

You are missing Edmonton!!

— Robi León (@robi_leon) June 16, 2022

Edmonton got robbed.

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvansog1) June 16, 2022

That sucks. We would have been great! The qualifying games we hosted were awesome. It should have been Edmonton.

— Pam Hall 😷🇺🇦🌻 (@PamelaHall72) June 16, 2022

Only two Canadian cities, what a kick in the teeth to the city of Edmonton which helped carry Canada’s contribution to the UNITED 2026 bid since Day 1.

— Jason Mills 🇨🇦❤️🇺🇦 (@iamjasonmills) June 16, 2022

Is there a link to these demands from the Alberta government? From what I have seen Edmonton was the only Canadian city to have funding from Both Provencal and Federal levels.

— Breit Doogie (@DoogieCan) June 16, 2022

I’m disappointed Edmonton didn’t get some games. They’ve done well any time the national teams have played there.

— Robin Bristow 🇨🇦🐶🐶🇮🇸🇿🇦 (@rob_bristow_CA) June 16, 2022

It’s infuriating that Edmonton is not getting World Cup games. As much as FIFA is a corrupt piece of garbage, that would have been an amazing experience for this city, and the Province absolutely blew it.

— Paul Owen (@pdashow) June 16, 2022

HOT TAKE: #Toronto and #Vancouver were bad choices among others for the @FIFAWorldCup in Canada in 2026
Toronto is too small of a venue and tix will be insane
Vancouver will spend $$ to make #BCplace have grass#Edmonton got hosed out of a great stadium and game

— Leo Erlikhman (@leoerli) June 16, 2022

Matches in Vancouver will be held at BC Place, while Toronto matches will take place at BMO Field. A real grass field will be installed at BC Place for the tournament, which is a requirement of FIFA for men’s World Cup matches. BMO Field will add temporary seating to boost its capacity.

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