The United States, Canada and Mexico were all chosen Wednesday to host the 2026 World Cup, a first for one of the world’s best-known sporting tournaments.
June 13 (UPI) — The United States, Canada and Mexico were all chosen Wednesday to host the 2026 World Cup, a first for one of the world’s best-known sporting tournaments.
FIFA voted 134 to 65 to award the tournament to the North American plan, called the United Bid. FIFA chose the three nations over Morocco.
Cuba, Slovenia and Spain abstained from voting, while Lebanon voted for none of the bids.
“The U. S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup,” President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday . “Congratulations — a great deal of hard work!”
The 2026 games will be the first time the World Cup is hosted by three countries.
“One of the biggest [reasons] was because of the passion of our fans across our three countries,” the presidents of the nations’ soccer federations said in a statement .
All FIFA associations were eligible to vote for the first time Wednesday at the group’s 68th Congress in Moscow, which came one day before the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
U. S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro said hosting the 2026 games is an “incredible privilege.”
“Football today is the only victor,” Cordeiro said.
The majority of the events in 2026,60 matches, will be played in the United States — including everything from the quarterfinals on — while Mexico and Canada will host 10 games each.
The last time the United States hosted the World Cup was 1994. Mexico hosted the event in 1970 and 1986. The 2026 tournament will be Canada’s first.
