On Monday, April 10, the United States Soccer Federation, along with Canada and Mexico, made the historic announcement that they would make a joint bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. If accepted, this would be the first time that a World Cup would be joint-hosted since Korea/Japan 2002. It would be the first time three nations would host the World Cup and the first time the United States would host the World Cup since 1994.
This is a huge moment for not only for the United States, but Mexico and Canada too. If the bid is accepted, it would be the first time since 1986 that Mexico has hosted World Cup matches and the first time that Canada would host a men’s World cup since hosting the women’s World Cup back in 2015. This would also mean that Canada would participate in a World Cup for the first time since 1986. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati even tweeted that he has the full support from President Trump on this bid, despite his past relationship’s with Mexico.
Both Mexico and Canada were both very supportive of this decision. During the reveal event, the president of the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (Mexican Football Federation) said, “For the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, and the entire Mexican soccer family, it is a source of pride to be candidates, along with the United States and Canada, to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026,” according to the Major League Soccer website. President of the Canadian Soccer Federation Victor Montagliani added, “We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with fellow CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) member associations, U.S. Soccer and Federación Mexicana de Fútbol under the FIFA Council principles for joint bids and to continue our tradition of hosting record-breaking international events.”
If the bid is accepted, these three nations plan on bringing the world cup back to North America with big spectacle. It would help strengthen the legitimacy of American soccer and even help put Canadian soccer on the map. This news received tremendous reactions, with the majority of people in North America rejoicing. Most fans are happy that a World Cup might be in North America again and close to home. Other fans were concerned about the amount of travel and FIFA’s corrupt past. But to that, I say you have to travel for every World Cup, no matter where you are and I don’t blame people for being skeptical of FIFA.
Overall, if this bid is accepted, it will be a monumental decision for North America and CONCACAF. It could help these countries economically and help legitimize these countries as legitimate soccer countries. In my opinion, I’m in full support of this bid. I hope this bid can be accepted and I can experience a World Cup in my home country.
Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com