"Canada, Mexico and USA selected as hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup™"

The vote-by-nation tally is interesting. China and Taiwan both voted for Morocco, as did Italy. Russia voted for the U.S.-encompassed bid (make a note, Mueller). The Czechs voted for the U.S., while the Slovaks did not. Iran was for none of the above (what did Morocco do to them?).

 

Morocco is a Sunni country. Currently, relations between the Shia and Sunni communities are not good (see Saudi Arabia/Iran).

 

I thought everyone got along in Morocco.

 

Garber on 2026: This will be "rocket fuel" for MLS

TFC: World Cup '26 will spark North American game

The campaign strategy that landed 2026 World Cup

How 2026 World Cup host cities will be picked

 

Qatar is probably just as hot (115+) with a very dictatorial regime. They got the WC through tons of graft, kickbacks and suitcases full of cash and their reward was votes.

 

I'm betting Qatar will run into trouble. If the EPL as well as many other leagues in UEFA don't want to suspend play at Christmas, I don't see how this 2022 WC will fly...

 

I'm thinking it will go to the USA in 2022 and if not here, some other joint venture. Maybe England?

Also, it just occurred to me that Tommy Thompson will be 29 years young by the time the 2026 World Cup kicks off! I'm betting Wondo, by then will be coaching.

 

I agree that they won’t give them two in s row. Although , Fifa president Gianni Infantino once said the USA can hold a World Cup tomorrow if they wanted to.

 

How 2026 World Cup host cities will be picked



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Levi's is in the running as they placed their proposal in the hat. If the teams were interesting enough I'd make the trip down off my mountain to see them.

 

I am thinking I'd rather travel to Edmonton or Monterrey or Guadalajara (none of which I've seen) and get a real international experience out of the tournament as opposed to dealing with the drudgery of Levi's.

 

As I have no passport and no desire to obtain one and I detest traveling, the closest venue would be ideal.

 

I’m think by then as Levi’s will be 12 years old, it will most likely be expanded or renovated. I remember how Stanford was given a facelift in time for the 1994 WC....

 

With the awarding of the 2026 games to the USA , Canada and Mexico, I'm reminded of when the 1994 tournament was awarded to America on July 4th, 1988. It was such a weird time for soccer in North America that no one really knew where the game was headed.

The Year in American Soccer - 1988

The NASL had folded and all you had was two indoor pro leagues, Major Indoor Soccer League & American Indoor Soccer Association and an amateur Southwest Indoor Soccer League which later became the USL.

As for the outdoor game, you had the third American Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance, Lone Star Soccer Alliance and the Canadian Soccer League. They were also all semipro circuits and played at a much lower level than the final year of the NASL only three years before. The amateur Quakes were in their last year and folded after the season in favor of the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks which played at different high schools around the Bay Area.

The US Women's National Team was coming into its own and the US men's were involved in the Olympics. The USSF decided to go with the college game to form the nucleus of their national team. I remember reading how the former USMNT manager Walter Chyzowych was coaching at Wake Forest and how the federation was looking into an incident in which he was involved with criticizing a referee in a college game. He actually became very angry and said he answered to the NCAA and not the USSF and they had no business looking into him.

Looking back 30 years, at that time, we didn't have a history with the national team and all we had was college and youth soccer. There was only six years to prepare for the 94 WC and no one thought it would even make a dent on the mainstream sports fan. MLS was still not even thought of and it was all an unknown. In retrospect, It was a time when no one used or knew what email and the Internet was and only a few cable channels existed. That 94 tournament however, became one of the month successful in history. Looking ahead, we still have 8 years to go to prepare for 2026 and many things from newer and improved stadiums to an expanded league to an influx of money and sponsors will come into the sport. Unlike 94, we now have the infrastructure, teams and the game is now played in middle america where no one ever dreamed it would be. I believe the next 8 years will be a very exciting time for the sport.

 

Yes they were minor but I remember the construction going on as they installed new bleachers but that was a lot back then.

Buck Shaw did nothing even though it served as Brazil's and Romania's training ground. That was then though and 30 years on or rather 1994-2024, I can see all kinds of renovations and improvements taking place.

 

Hopefully MLS is on a Winter/Liga MX-type schedule before 2026. That's IF we're really interested in taking off with "rocket fuel" Like Garber alluded to above..