Mayor John Tory endorses bid to host 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Toronto

Toronto Mayor John Tory has publicly endorsed a city staff report to move forward with a bid to host games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Hosting the FIFA World Cup is a once in a generation opportunity to showcase Toronto to the world,” Tory said in a statement.

“Coming off the success of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games and the Invictus Games, it is clear that Toronto and Torontonians are ready to be one of the host cities for this iconic event.”

Toronto joins Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver as Canadian cities vying for spots to host up to 10 games for the tournament.

READ MORE: Hosting part of 2026 FIFA World Cup to cost $35-$55 million

Canada is part of a North American bid, along with the United States and Mexico, to host the 2026 World Cup. Morocco is the only other country in the running.

Toronto officials estimate it would cost between $30 million and $45 million to co-host the World Cup but those costs are expected to be shared between the city, the province and the federal government.

READ MORE: Canada, U.S. and Mexico launch joint bid to host 2026 World Cup

If Toronto is chosen as a host city, BMO Field at Exhibition Place will be used as the stadium for the matches. City officials say extra seating will be added to supplement the existing stadium capacity of 30,000.

City staff says Toronto also has a number of smaller soccer fields that could be used as training and practice facilities.

The deadline for the joint bid between the three countries is March 16. FIFA will announce the successful bid in June with the final host cities announced in 2021.