FIFA picks Vancouver, Toronto among 16 host cities for 2026 World Cup

Jun 16 2022, 9:26 pm

After weeks, months, and years of speculation, it’s official. The eyes of the world will be on Vancouver and Toronto in 2026.

At a made-for-TV event in New York, FIFA made its long-anticipated reveal of the host cities for the men’s World Cup, set to take place in Canada, the United States, and Mexico in 2026.

Among the 16 North American cities chosen were Vancouver and Toronto. Edmonton, however, was left on the sidelines.

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.

“We are very proud of Canada’s candidate host cities for putting together substantial and compelling bids for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” said Canada Soccer president Dr. Nick Bontis.

“The competition for venue selection was the most robust in FIFA’s history. Today’s success is a testament to the cities, provinces, and federal government’s commitment and dedication in pursuit of hosting the most prestigious single sporting event in the world. We congratulate Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, we also wish to express our sincere appreciation to Edmonton, Alberta for their historic support and desire to contribute to the growth and development of our sport in this country by hosting FIFA competitions.”

The FIFA World Cup is expanding to include 48 participating countries, which will make the 2026 tournament the largest one ever held. A total of 80 matches are set to take place, with the United States hosting 60 of them. Canada and Mexico will receive 10 matches each.

“We have the rare opportunity of coming together as three neighbouring nations to use sport to transform and improve lives and communities,” Bontis added. “We look forward to supporting the host cities, our partners across Canada and in the USA and Mexico, and FIFA to deliver what is certain to be the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history. The FIFA World Cup 2026 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to impact and grow the game in Canada as we welcome the world.”

Below is a list of the 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities. Two cities in Canada were chosen, to go with three in Mexico, and 13 in the United States.

2026 FIFA World Cup host cities

Host cities in Canada (2)

  • Vancouver
  • Toronto

Host cities in the United States (13)

  • Seattle
  • San Francisco
  • Los Angeles
  • Kansas City
  • Dallas
  • Atlanta
  • Houston
  • Boston
  • Philadelphia
  • Miami
  • New York/New Jersey

Host cities in Mexico (3)

  • Guadalajara
  • Monterrey
  • Mexico City

Just six candidates were not chosen today, including Edmonton. Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, and Washington, DC/Baltimore were not chosen in the United States.

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