Shutterstock
The FIFA Congress voted on the 2026 World Cup host city on Wednesday, June 13 in Moscow, Russia. The finalists for the honor were Morocco and a joint bid between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. When the vote was officially announced, it was confirmed that the FIFA World Cup is coming back to North America.
FIFA Congress voted for the joint bid between the North American countries by an overwhelming 134-65 margin.
It marks the fourth time in history that soccer’s most prestigious tournament will be held in North America. The United States most recently hosted the World Cup in 1994, while Mexico previously hosted the tournament twice in 1970 and 1986. The United States bid to host the 2022 World Cup, but the tournament went to Qatar in a controversial vote.
There is no official word on the breakdown of the games, but the proposal puts 60 of the 80 games in the United States, with Mexico and Canada receiving 10 games each. The United States would host every game from the quarterfinals onward.
FIFA will now determine which cities will host games across the three countries.
This is additionally good news for the United States and Canada, which missed out on qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, because the two countries and Mexico will all be guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
The vote for the 2026 World Cup host country comes just 24 hours ahead of the start of the 2018 tournament which kicks off Thursday, June 14 at 11:00 a.m. ET, when host nation Russia faces off against Saudi Arabia in the opening game at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
