Canada, Mexico and the United States will be hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The announcement, which was made Wednesday morning, means it’s the first time Canada will be involved in hosting one of the world’s largest sporting events.
Three Canadian venues will be part of this: Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.
FIFA member federations voted 134-65 in favour of selecting the “United 2026” North American joint bid over Morocco.
WATCH: FIFA President says he’s not concerned with interference by Trump
The announcement comes as the 2018 World Cup is set to start on Thursday in Russia.
WATCH: ‘We were very humbled’: Canadian Soccer President on winning FIFA bid
The 2026 World Cup has 48 teams playing a total of 80 games – 60 planned across 10 U.S. cities, and 10 games in three cities for each
of Canada and Mexico.
Since host countries are automatically in the tournament, a win for the “United 2026” bid would ensure that the Canadian men’s soccer team would be playing in the World Cup.
READ MORE: 5 things to know about Canada’s bid for 2026 FIFA World Cup
The last time they did that was in 1986 — in Mexico. The team didn’t make it past the group stage.
WATCH: United bid honoured with the privilege to host 2026 FIFA World Cup
“Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026,” Carlos Cordeiro, president of the US Soccer Federation told Congress.
“Football today is the only winner.”
The U.S hosted the World Cup previously in 1994 while Mexico hosted it in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted a men’s World Cup but held the women’s tournament in 2015.
— With files from Reuters
Comments