Vancouver aims to be part of FIFA 2026 World Cup bid

City one of nine Canadian locations being considered for joint North American effort

 

Gregor Robertson
Photo by Chandra Bodalia

VANCOUVER is one of the cities vying to be part of the joint bid by Canada, the US and Mexico to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

The United Bid Committee, which is coordinating North America’s proposal, have released their longlist of 46 potential host cities; it includes Toronto, New York and Los Angeles, as well as Vancouver.

The FIFA World Cup, which takes place every four years, is the biggest sporting competition in the world and the Brazil 2014 edition attracted over 3.4 million spectators. FIFA 2026 will be the first to feature an expanded field of 48 teams and, if the tournament is awarded to North America, 10 matches will be held in Canada.

Speaking about the bid, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said: “Vancouver is a world-class host city that has successfully hosted many international sporting events including the 2010 Winter Olympics, the HSBC Rugby World Sevens Series and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This is an exciting opportunity for Canadian soccer fans to show off the fantastic fan atmosphere we’ll be able to provide as a host city and be a significant boost to the economy and local businesses.”

The United Bid Committee will shortlist cities for inclusion in the bid next month before submitting the North American proposal in March 2018. FIFA will announce on June 13, 2018, whether they have awarded the 2026 World Cup to North America or Morocco – the only other country bidding for the event.