I mean if CONCACAF could possibly get up to 8 teams in 2026, then you have countries like Canada (hosts) Mexico (hosts) USA (hosts) 5 other countries you could potentially see: Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago Costa Rica Panama Honduras But outsiders: Haiti, Curacao they could possibly qualify
Plus with it being here in Canada for 2026, I will be 36 years by then. Which means if I have kids or if I have a kid at all, can take them or him or her to the games with me which is why I'm even more excited that it is in my backyard because I know my family definitely are going to get tickets.
nope, FIFA alone decides but “might take recommendations from the host”. FIFA also doesn’t want more than 10 venues in the USA, more venues mean higher organisation costs. final is also very tricky, noone knows yet if FIFA is going to accept roofless stadium in NY which would otherwise make most sense
Not 100 percent but very probable the host cities are: CANADA- Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton MEXICO- Monterrey, Guadalajara, Mexico City USA- L.A., New York, DC, Dallas, Atlanta, Then 5 from the following cities: Miami, Boston, KC, Seattle, Nashville, Denver, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, Orlando, San Francisco. I'd predict Seattle, San Francisco, Kansas City, Miami, Boston. Very small chance Vancouver would replace Edmonton, Chicago would replace Cincinnati or KC and Las Vegas would replace Denver or San Francisco. Slight chance SoFi Stadium replaces the Rose Bowl. Mexico City or LA expected to host Opening Match. USA only from last 8 to final. Semis in Atlanta and Dallas and final in New York.
FIFA are under no obligation follow the bid book to the letter. FIFA has last say on the how the tournament unfolds, not the bidding committee. I have huge doubts that the US gets all the games from quarterfinals until the finals. FIFA will most likely split the knockout games unti the final like they did in the joint Korea/Japan World Cup
Imo it should be final in the US, semis in Azteca and one of the American venues, third place game and opener in Canada. Quarterfinals maybe 4 US, 2 MEX, and 2 CAN.
Or I would do: Round of 32 games all take place in the US cities Round of 16 games like 8 of those games take place in Toronto (3 games), Montreal (3 games) and Edmonton (2 games); then the other 8 games take place in Monterrey (3 games), Guadalajara (3 games) and Mexico City (2 games) Quarter Final games takes place in Mexico and Canada and US Semi Finals takes place in US cities (LA and Boston) 2026 FIFA World Cup Final takes place in New York City/NJ at MetLife Stadium
I understand that FIFA has final say. Yes Canada and Mexico are a big part of the bid and hosting duties, but FIFA is working in conjunction with USSF on the final determination of sites. From everything I've read USSF, Mexico, and FIFA already have an understanding and handshake agreement that from the last 8 on it will be in the USA. With Canada basically accepting this fairly happily. What happened in 2002 is actually a strike against it happening again because FIFA weren't huge fans of it because they ran into too many logistical problems.
Mexico doesn't want to host quarterfinal matches or semis if it means its replacing a USA venue. Their primary motivation behind being a part of this bid is money and they understand they can make more money from the tournament if USA hosts more matches. The majority of their wealthier fans live in the USA. Thus, why Mexico hosts 90 percent of their "home" friendlies in the USA. Later in the tournament prices can be set higher and they want that money. Same goes for FIFA. They can charge more if the later matches are in the USA as they can price gauge more.
And the FMF with CSA Publicly, sure but the FMF president couldn't hide his annoyance at Sunil Gulati during the press conference when he said that all QF games and forward would be in the US with the opening games. He even put him on the spot about he opening games to which Gulati said "we'll see". Everyone wants more games, no one knows what's being said backstage. It's a "North American" World Cup, not United States World Cup. I think FIFA would want the "North American" aspect to be a bit more present. Sepp Blatter wasn't a fan of it. Infantino loves it...a bit to much for many's taste. 48 teams is too much.
The profits after FIFA gets their cut are being split amongst the 3. That's why all 4 stakeholders are in agreement about the late stages of the tournament being in the USA as that would maximize that. I know Canadian fans based in Canada may want it differently but the decision makers came up with this plan for a reason. If there would be a change to the bid I've heard Mexico and Canada adding a venue, USA still having its 10 venues and the matches Mexico and Canada would gain would be during the Group Stage, the Round of 32 and Round of 16. Those extra venues would likely be Vancouver and Puebla. I absolutely disagree that FIFA would favor the North American aspect of the bid. Last I checked USA is a part of North America, but moreover FIFA cares far more about their bank account than anything else. I completely agree about 48 being too much. 32 was the perfect number. 48 is clunky and weird. If you are going to 48 you might as well go to 64 to have a fair and balanced format.
I've no idea what the border arrangements are between the 3 2026 hosts but one of the major issues in 2002 was that movement between the two nations wasn't easy with fairly strict visa requirements (sure the teams would have got preferred access but maybe not so with the thousands of supporters) so a deliberate decision was made to prevent teams and their supporters from crossing the border. Only two teams eventually crossed the border (Germany and Turkey) to play the final and 3rd place match. All others played in either Japan or South Korea. I can get Visa free access to Canada, USA and Mexico with my passport which simplifies things a bit for me if I decide to go and my team crosses borders. Another issue that annoyed FIFA was that they had to deal with 2 separate organising committees which really meant Korea/Japan operated as two tournaments with the winners of each playing off. I think their will only be the one committee to deal with in 2026.
Sorry friend but your misunderstanding how FIFA & World Cups works. FIFA doesn't share the profits with the hosts. They keep the profits, leaves you with the bills. You'll get the windfalls in tax revenue from hosting the...so of course Mexico and Canada wants as little of it as possible according to you They do share some of the revenue for participants and winning team but the rest is split evenly amongst all the associations . Hosts gets nothing outside of that. Tons of articles are online but this is a fun place to start. No they aren't. The bid book said so which was put together by the 3 hosts associations which was obvious that the FMF didn't like so much. FIFA chose North American via a general vote but it's none biding to the bid book. Once awarded, it's 100% FIFA calling all the shots - which Montagliani also confirmed. Yes, they can CHOOSE to follow it IF they want but they don't have too and that's just 1000% fact. It is your opinion that they will to which I say, you don't know that they will follow all of it - they don't have too. Yes, because when Blatter was still around and it was still 32 teams, Canada wanted to bid solo, so did Mexico while the US were undecided. When Blatter was removed, Infantino replaced him and expanded the World Cup to 48 teams. Mexico didn't have the money, Canada didn't have the infrastructure nor the time and the US had no support. Calling FIFA biggest voting block a shithole was a bad idea. Africa was voting Morocco South America - Morocco since they wanted to host 2030 Europe - Divided Asia - Divided CONCACAF? CFU members were going to support Morocco over the US. Had the US bid solo they would have lost. Mexico and Canada made the pill easier to swallow and we won. There's a reason it was Davies making the final pitch to FIFA and not Pulisic. So it came down to we "run together with USSF dictating its terms" or no one gets anything. However...FIFA decides everything, cities, venues, scheduling, all of it. The US will most likely have the most venues - but everything else is decided by FIFA. They can agree with the bid or/and make changes unilaterally. So we don't know yet. We don't know. Montagliani said so far, they are out but FIFA could arbitrarily decide to bring them back in - that's the same for US cities as well if they are interested at that point. That's what they voted for, not only for the US. You have to expect that they'll want the North American theme to be front and center throughout the tournament. Japan / Korea sets the precedent. Both nations were front and centre throughout the event rather equally. in the last cycle, over 55% of revenues were from TV rights alone, marketing and licensing rights made up the other lions share of the revenues. While ticket sales account for a significant amount of money, it's quite small compare to the other revenue streams. FIFA gets paid regardless of where the games are played and how many in which country - the difference from the US hosting less games would end up being pocket change. We agree on that!
And that single bid is United about when and where the matches will take place. The format won't vary but maybe slightly from the bid book. The 3 national associations created this together. Some Canadian fans who want more matches in their country despite only having a tiny percentage of the population amongst the 3 and high quality stadiums amongst the 3 don't apparently at this point don't want to accept the reality of how this is going to happen.
Ummmm FIFA pays the local organizing committee for organizing and conducting the World Cup. It also makes available to the host country a legacy fund to be used in the future for the development of the game in the country. Also where do you think FIFA makes their revenue from? Its from World Cup's. So those fees paid out literally come from how well financially they do during a World Cup. Price gauge just doesn't mean ticket prices. Ad space is what I'm mainly referring to. Of the 3 host countries the overwhelming majority of sponsors are American companies. Its to their benefit the USA is hosting in the later stages. We all know FIFA gets paid regardless and they can get paid the most with the majority of the tournament being in the USA which it will. Yes, the voters voted a North American bid. We all know that. They also knew what the bid was. Yes, they FIFA have final say. It was very obvious USSF had a lot to do with the changing of the voting process all together but also Infantino's rise to presidency. Infantino urged the United States to bid, then urged the joint bid of the 3. He knew it would take a joint bid to get it passed but knew once selected those few at the top would determine everything not all the voters from all parts of the world like the initial selection process. Now that its passed the very few at the top will decide how things will operate. There won't be a huge or major change in the bid. There rarely is. As long as the host plays ball and flips the bill for the cost of hosting FIFA will bend over backwards for the host. See Qatar 2022. See all previous World Cup hosts basically. FMF president wasn't thrilled because he knows he's a puppet just along for the ride. The way the sport is run in Mexico is very unique. The 5-7 ownership groups that own the bulk of the top clubs are truly the ones who run the sport. Those owners are in bed with MLS and the United States because most of there tv money comes from the United States. Thus, the relationship with the top clubs in Liga MX and U.S. advertisers, MLS clubs and the ever expanding Mexican-American market that consumes Liga MX and el tri. The actual FMF president isn't really pulling the strings. Also almost immediately after the bid was accepted FMF board got rid of their old president for one that's more on board. Who was president of Club America and VP of Televisa Deportes. Also got his masters degree at Texas. If you or anyone wants to hold out hope that each country gets equal matches or close to it go ahead. 2002 was 2 separate bids forced into one. This is different its one bid to be hosted in 16 cities across North America. It happens the majority of the people, best stadiums, and sponsors happen to be in the middle one. Too many Canadians are thinking this as three separate bids coming together to equally share the hosting duties. Its one World Cup being hosted by 16 cities. 3 of which happen to be in Canada, none of which happen to have one of the better stadiums to host a match beyond the round of 16.
Whatever man, I don't really care one way or another as flying to NY is shorter than Edmonton and Canada will immensely profit regardless. I was just pointing out things where you were factually wrong on the way FIFA actually works which seems rampant on this board. I won't even bother posting Montagliani interview on the matter because you know better than the vice-president of FIFA. Carry on
Just in case anyone was as unaware as me: FIFA's official website for this World Cup is up. The Preliminaries page reiterates what we know about the berths for this tournament... Although there's no official word on how many of the hosts will qualify automatically. (on a side note: I didn't know the Canadian Premier League has FIFA's support. Don't know how much tangible help it was for the Island Games last year, but glad to hear about such outside investment in its long-term growth )
I thought it was official that the hosts (all 3) would automatically qualify. I know FIFA says hosts come out of the confederation allowance with the only extra given for hosting is one playoff spot. Maybe CONCACAF need to approve it but I thought was done when the bid went forward.
From FIFA: "In the event of co-hosting, the number of host countries to qualify automatically would be decided by the FIFA Council."
That's the spirit. Truthfully, I want Canada to host more matches. Better weather for matches that time of year, safer, closer for me as well as I'm in Chicago. I don't care how much FIFA profits. It has no bearing on me. All over this site I've discussed how Canada should get the chance to host Gold Cup's not just the United States. More international matches in June and July in Canada the better. I just don't see FIFA making that decision. Who knows though, the world is changing, the United States is changing maybe more rapidly than anywhere. By 2026 its hard to say how similar or different the United States will look or if it will even be United which would obviously change the prospects for what's planned to happen in 2026.
Its not 100 percent, but pretty close to a formality that Canada, Mexico and USA will all get automatic spots in the World Cup in 2026. The Final Round of qualifying in CONCACAF will be 8 teams just like it is this cycle. The top 3 of those will earn births to the World Cup and the 4th and 5th place teams getting a spot in the Intercontinental Playoffs. This cycle its the top 3 of the final round earning births to the World Cup with just 4th place getting an Intercontinental Playoff spot.