Host selection World Cup 2026 to USA, Canada and Mexico
The organization of the 2026 World Cup has been allocated jointly to Canada, Mexico and the US. North America has thus been chosen as the host country of the global football tournament. Allocation of the football tournament was made by the FIFA members on June 13, 2018.
The voting process
FIFA has invited the following football federations to express their interest in the organization of the World Cup 2026 before August 11, 2017: CONCACAF, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC [ref]. At the 68th congress, a vote will be taken on who will be the host country. If it is not possible to make a choice on that day, the football associations AFC and UEFA may also make a bid for the organization.
The main question for FIFA members to answer is: "Do you want to award the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final competition to the bid submitted by the Moroccan Football Association, to the joint bid submitted by the CSA, FEMEXFUT and the USSF ("United Bid"), or to none of them (thus reopening the bidding process, excluding the four member associations having already submitted a bid)?"
So there are four choices:
- Morocco bid
- United bid
- None of the bids
- No choice
If one of the countries receives a majority (more than 50%) of the votes during the first round of voting, the World Football Championship will be awarded to that country. On June 13, 2018, the joint bid of the United States, Canada and Mexico received 67% of the vote, making North America the host country [ref].
210 FIFA members attended the congress, of which 203 countries are eligible to vote. During the voting round, 200 countries voted, with the following results:
- Morocco: 65 votes (33%)
- US, Canada and Mexico: 134 votes (67%)
- None of the bids: 1 vote (1%)
- No choice: 3 votes
These are the votes of all FIFA members present [ref]:
Download the results (PDF, 1,066 kb)Countries that have officially reported to FIFA
On August 11, 2017, the deadline for the countries to officially declare their interest to FIFA passed. The following (groups of) countries have responded to the call:
- The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada), the Mexican Football Association (Mexico), and the United States Soccer Federation (United States) collectively
- The Moroccan Football Association (Morocco).
Morocco wants to officially host the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Morocco has officially applied to FIFA to host the 2026 World Cup [ref].
On Friday, August 11, 2017, the country applied and so far has a 50% chance of being awarded the football tournament. Canada, Mexico and the United States have also registered as joint candidates with the World Football Association.
Morocco previously announced its interest in a joint bid with Spain or Portugal. This would be the first time that the FIFA World Cup will be played on multiple continents. Nevertheless, the Moroccans have decided to take on the organization on their own.
The FIFA World Cup has only been played once before on the African continent, in South Africa in 2010. Morocco was also a candidate at the time, but was therefore not chosen as the host country. The Netherlands lost to Spain in the 2010 final.
Morocco logo:
The US, Canada and Mexico want to officially host the 2026 World Cup
Three countries officially signed up on April 10, 2017 to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The US, Canada and Mexico are planning to jointly host the football tournament, and they are the only serious candidates so far [ref].
No less than 48 countries will participate in the football event, so that the number of matches will also be expanded to 80. The majority of the matches will be played in the US. Mexico and Canada will each be assigned 10 games as scheduled. There will be 16 groups with 3 countries each.
However, it is not yet certain that the football event will be assigned to the US, due to President Trump's travel ban. The new president has imposed strict requirements for people entering the country. Players and football fans are most likely also affected by these restrictions.
Mexico has hosted the World Football Championship twice before, namely in 1970 and 1982. Brazil and Argentina won these tournaments at the time. The United States organized the tournament once, namely in 1994. Brazil also won this tournament, which is already the most visited World Cup ever. Canada has never hosted a FIFA World Cup.
Logo of the United States, Canada and Mexico:
Allocation organization
All members of FIFA may bid for the organization of the main tournament, provided that their football association has not organized the previous World Championship. The football organization announced this condition on 30 May 2015. With this, FIFA has slightly changed their policy, because in the past the 2022 World Cup was not assigned to a football association that has organized one of the past two World Cups.
This means that countries from the Asian Football Association CAF will not be allowed to host the tournament in 2026, as Qatar has been awarded the 2022 World Cup. The World Cup will therefore be awarded to a country from one of the remaining football associations: CONCACAF (last time in 1994), CONMEBOL (last time in 2014), UEFA (last time in 2018), CAF (last time in 2010) or OFC (last time in 2010). never organized).
FIFA has allowed countries to jointly bid for the organization since October 2016. The 2002 World Cup was the last football tournament to be organized jointly by two countries, namely South Korea and Japan. At the time, the world football organization decided not to allow this anymore.
The bidding process
The bidding process for the organization has already started in 2015. The allocation of the organization was scheduled during the FIFA Congress on May 10, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Due to the corruption in the allocation of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, FIFA decided on 10 June 2015 to postpone the allocation to May 2020.
Later, FIFA decided to reverse their earlier decision to postpone the allocation. On 11 May 2017, a timetable was approved for the next steps in the bidding process, from which the host country will be chosen. Members of the football associations CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC had until August 11, 2017 to officially declare their interest to the World Football Association.
To avoid any suspicions of corruption and bribery, the World Football Association has decided to make the bidding process transparent. This allows every football fan to see why the host country was chosen.
During the meeting on May 10, 2016, it was decided to divide the process into 4 phases [ref]:
- May 2016 - May 2017: a consultation phase in which a new strategy is devised
- June 2017- 11 August 2018: phase in which a bid can be prepared
- March 16, 2018 - June 2018: evaluation of the bids
- June 13, 2018: Host country assignment
During the consultation phase, FIFA focuses on the following areas:
- Human rights, sustainable management and protection of the environment and nature
- Draft conditions/requirements that bidding countries must meet
- Review the current situation regarding joint bids
- The number of participating countries
In May 2017, at the request of the then only joint candidates Canada, Mexico and the US, FIFA decided to announce the host nation on June 13, 2018. Canada, Mexico and the US want to jointly organize the football tournament and are so far the only candidates for the organization. FIFA accepted their request to advance the allocation with 93% of the vote. This means that the host country (or countries) will be announced two years earlier, so that countries now have a few months to make a bid. The proposal is therefore very favorable for the only joint candidates, who see their chances increase enormously.
The interested countries will now have to officially register their bid, and they must also agree to the terms of the bidding process. The next steps are:
- Countries must complete the registration documents they receive from FIFA;
- Countries should read the bidding documents carefully so that they can make preparations;
- Countries must submit their bid book to FIFA by March 2018;
- FIFA will carefully evaluate both bid books and prepare a report;
- Based on that report, the FIFA president will submit the bids to Congress for final selection.
Finally, the bidding process will be completed with a choice of the two interested countries as host country. The host nation will be announced in Moscow on June 13, 2018, on the night of the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.
World Cup 2026 for the first time with 48 participants
Former UEFA president Michel Platini proposed holding the tournament in 2026 with 40 participating countries, instead of the current number of 32 countries. The new president Gianni Infantino even wants to expand the number of participants for the 2026 World Cup to 48 countries, including the host country. He proposed this on October 4, 2016 and a week later this proposal was received positively at the next meeting of FIFA. There is currently a schedule on the table with 40 countries in groups of 4 or 5 teams and a schedule with 48 teams. In January 2017, FIFA will decide whether to expand the number of participants.
World Cup possibly organized by several countries
The 2026 World Championship may be held in several countries. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said this on Thursday, February 16, 2017. FIFA will allow several host countries for a World Football Championship. The football association must think about the long-term sustainability of football. In addition, FIFA must show that it is wise that the tournament will be played in several countries for the first time.
Infantino sees a football tournament in a number of countries. He is thinking of two to four countries, each with three to five football stadiums. He will certainly encourage such a bid from several countries. The countries must of course be close to each other, so that football players and supporters do not have to travel too far.
The last time the sporting event was organized by several countries was in 2002, when South Korea and Japan were the host countries. FIFA then decided it was a one-off event, meaning that the 2006 (Germany), 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 (Brazil) World Cups were played in only one country. The 2018 World Cup (Russia) and the 2022 World Cup (Qatar) have also already been allocated to one country.
Countries interested
CONCACAF (North America)
Canada: In July 2012, Canada announced plans to bid for the organization. In October 2013 this bid was confirmed and on January 23, 2014 Canada officially made a bid for the organization of the final tournament. Canada has never hosted a FIFA World Cup.
Mexico: In September 2012, Mexico showed its interest in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The country has also hosted a FIFA World Cup in 1970 and 1986. In October 2013, Mexico indicated its intention to make a joint bid with the United States, but on December 9, 2014 it was confirmed that Mexico will make a bid alone. This allows Mexico to become the first country in the world to have hosted three World Cups.
United States: On May 13, 2016, United States Soccer Federation member John Motta indicated that the United States will bid for the organization at any cost, through a joint bid with Mexico or a single bid. Chairman Sunil Gulati indicated that he only wants to bid if the process is transparent and fair. The US already hosted the World Cup in 1994 and also made a failed bid for the 2022 World Cup. The 2026 World Cup coincidentally falls in the same year as the 250th anniversary of American independence. President Trump's travel ban and other travel restrictions do not favor the United States in making a bid for the organization.
Canada, Mexico and United States: On December 29, 2016, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani indicated that it would be a good option to organize the event jointly by three countries. Delegates from the three football countries will meet in 2017 to discuss the options. It has never happened before in the history of the World Championship that three countries co-host the tournament.
CONMEBOL (South America)
Colombia: in March 2010 Colombia already confirmed that they will make a bid for the organization of the World Championship. In the past, the 1986 World Cup was awarded to Colombia, but Mexico eventually became the host country due to financial problems. The offer is part of the National Development Plan.
UEFA (Europe)
Kazakhstan: On December 13, 2014, Astana Mayor Adilbek Zhaksybekov announced a possible bid for the organization. Head of Kazakhstan's National Football Association, Yerlan Kozhagapanov, confirmed the government's plans. The country also wants to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Morocco: After the successful organization of the Africa Cup, Morocco could also host the 2026 World Cup according to Moncef Belkhayat. However, Morocco has already made failed bids at the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, setting a record for rejected bids at the World Cup.
Morocco and Spain or Portugal: on March 8, 2017, Morocco indicated that it also wanted to organize the football tournament with Spain or Portugal. Morocco itself last participated in the World Championship in 1998, but will automatically qualify as the host country. Because Morocco cannot fully comply with FIFA's conditions, it is seeking cooperation with Portugal or Spain.
Countries may be interested
Australia and New Zealand: On 13 April 2015, Martin Snedden proposed a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand, but this was later opposed by the Australian Football Association. Nevertheless, the government is discussing this.
Azerbaijan and Turkey: On 22 May 2012, Azerbaijan's sports minister Azad Rahimov proposed a joint bid with Turkey.
References
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World Cup 2026 has been allocated to Canada, Mexico and the United States. North America received a 67% majority with 134 votes.
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Author of this content is Patrick. I have been playing soccer for more than 25 years and follow the daily news closely. My hobbies include playing football, running and maintaining various websites, in addition to my job as a financial professional.
I do not work for any related company or institution, so the information is reliable and independent. The information has been collected accurately from reliable sources and is regularly updated.