KEY FACTS
FIFA grouped the host cities by region, with Los Angeles, Seattle and the San Francisco Bay area city of Santa Clara holding U.S.-based matches in the West region, while Vancouver in Canada and Guadalajara in Mexico will also serve as host cities.
The Central region consists of venues in Houston, Dallas, Kansas City and Atlanta, as well as Mexico City and Monterrey in Mexico.
In the East, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey—just outside New York City—will host, along with venues in Philadelphia, Boston, Miami and Toronto.
Five U.S. cities named as finalists were not selected to host games: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville and Orlando didn’t make the cut, while Edmonton in Canada was also not picked.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
The sites for specific matches, including the opening game and the final, will be announced at a later date.
BIG NUMBER
$90 million-$480 million. That’s how much host cities can expect to receive in windfall gains from World Cup-related economic activity, according to U.S. Soccer.
KEY BACKGROUND
The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament ever hosted by three countries, and will feature significant format changes from other recent World Cups. The number of teams competing in the tournament will jump from 32—where it has stood since 1998—to 48, and the opening stage will shift from eight groups of four teams to sixteen groups of three. As with prior World Cups, the top two teams from each group will advance, but they will move into a knockout stage starting with a round of 32 in 2026, instead of a round of 16. The U.S. has hosted the World Cup on one occasion before, in 1994, while Mexico has hosted twice, 1986 and 1970. Canada has never hosted a men’s World Cup.
TANGENT
The 2022 World Cup takes place in Qatar from November 21-December 18. The U.S. plays its first game on opening day against Wales, followed by matchups against England and Iran to close out the group stage.
By Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff