The City of Vancouver is vying to be one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
B.C. Place will be one of eight Canadian venues looking for a spot in the joint North American bid, which is being proposed by Canada, the United States and Mexico. The United Bid Committee, which is coordinating the North American proposal, released their longlist of 46 potential host cities that include Toronto, New York and Vancouver.
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If the North American bid is successful, 10 of the 80 matches would be held in Canada.
“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,” Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a release.
“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 FIFA World Cup takes place every four years and is one of the biggest sporting competitions in the world. The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil attracted more than 3.4 million spectators and FIFA 2026 will be the first to feature an expanded field of 48 teams. The top two teams from each group will then advance to a 32-team knockout stage.
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Canada is coming off hosting the 2015 Women’s World Cup, deemed a success on and off the field. It has also hosted the 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup, the 2007 U-20 Men’s World Cup, and the 1997 U-16 Men’s World Cup (now a U-17 event).
It would be the first time Canada hosts the men’s World Cup if the bid is accepted. The official bid will be sent to FIFA by March 16, 2018 and a winner will be announced June 13, 2018.
The only other country bidding for the event is Morocco.
~ with files from Slav Kornik
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