, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a bold statement summing up the goal of the 2026 tournament, to be played largely in the United States.
B次元官网网址淏y 2026, soccer B次元官网网址� or futbol B次元官网网址� will be the No. 1 sport in this part of the world,B次元官网网址� he proclaimed.
Roughly four years before soccerB次元官网网址檚 showcase comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada, there already were winners and losers Thursday: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri, were among the cities picked after missing out on hosting the 1994 tournament.
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, missed the cut.
Eleven U.S. stadiums were taken, all from the NFL. Arlington, Texas; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Inglewood and Santa Clara, California, were holdover areas from the 1994 tournament that boosted soccerB次元官网网址檚 American prominence.
Mexico CityB次元官网网址檚 Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and B次元官网网址�86 finals, will become the first stadium in three World Cups, selected along with GuadalajaraB次元官网网址檚 Estadio Akron and MonterreyB次元官网网址檚 Estadio BBVA.
TorontoB次元官网网址檚 BMO Field and Vancouver, British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 BC Place were picked for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first time hosting, while Edmonton, AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 Commonwealth Stadium was dropped.
Following the in Landover, Maryland, BaltimoreB次元官网网址檚 omission means this will be a rare World Cup with no matches in the vicinity of a hostB次元官网网址檚 capital.
B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 imagine a World Cup coming to the U.S., the capital city not taking a major role,B次元官网网址� said Colin Smith, FIFAB次元官网网址檚 chief competitions and events officer.
Infantino promised a fan fest on WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 National Mall, and locations across the three nations are in play for training sites.
B次元官网网址淭he story is always who doesnB次元官网网址檛 get chosen,B次元官网网址� U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone said.
InfantinoB次元官网网址檚 goal of reaching the top of U.S. sports appears to be quite a reach. , while the on U.S. English- and Spanish-language TV.
B次元官网网址淵ou are leading the world in many areas,B次元官网网址� Infantino said about North America, B次元官网网址渢he objective must be that you will be leading the world, as well, in the worldB次元官网网址檚 No. 1 sport.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 know it was giggles and laughs,B次元官网网址� North and Central American and Caribbean Confederation President Victor Montagliani said. B次元官网网址淗e wasnB次元官网网址檛 joking.B次元官网网址�
Infantino defended , which included sales tax exemptions. He said supports FIFAB次元官网网址檚 211 members and 75% could not sustain operations without the money.
B次元官网网址淭his is something which is definitely a fair compromise, taking into the account the interest of sport and the interests of the host countries,B次元官网网址� he said.
and average of 68,991. The capacities of the U.S. stadiums for 2026 are all 60,000 and higher.
B次元官网网址淚 think this part of the world doesnB次元官网网址檛 realize what will happen here in 2026,B次元官网网址� Infantino said. B次元官网网址淭hese three countries will be upside down. The world will be invading Canada, Mexico and the United States.B次元官网网址�
The envisioned 60 games in the U.S. for the , including all from the quarterfinals on, and 10 each in Mexico and Canada.
Specific sites for each round will be announced later, and Infantino said world-wide television times will be a factor for the final, which makes the Eastern and Central times zones more likely. from 3:30 p.m. EDT to 10 a.m. EDT for this yearB次元官网网址檚 tournament, which is 10 p.m. in Beijing.
The U.S. selections included none of the nine stadiums used in 1994. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and OrlandoB次元官网网址檚 Camping World Stadium were the only ones remaining in contention, and they were among the sites dropped in negotiations with stadiums and cities that continued until right before the announcement.
New stadiums were selected in five areas used in 1994. AT&T Stadium in Texas instead of DallasB次元官网网址� Cotton Bowl, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for the Rose Bowl and LeviB次元官网网址檚 Stadium for Stanford Stadium.
Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, replaced torn-down sites that were adjacent, Giants Stadium and Foxboro Stadium.
Three U.S. venues have retractable roofs and SoFi has a fixed roof. All of the U.S. stadiums but Miami and Kansas City opened in 2002 or later.
Venues have a broader array of pricey seats than in 1994 B次元官网网址� the bid book listed a total of 3,757 luxury suites and 76,317 club seats, even before the opening of SoFi, which .
Eight of the 11 U.S. stadiums have artificial turf and promised to install temporary grass. Dietmar Exler, chief operating officer of AMB Sports & Entertainment, whose NFL Falcons and Major League Soccer team play at Mercedes-Benz, said growing lamps will be used.
B次元官网网址淲e will study very carefully with FIFA how we can handle and make sure we have the best natural turf available,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 one of the high priority areas for us to focus on.B次元官网网址�
Some venues, notably SoFi, cannot currently fit a 68-x-105 meter (75x-115 yard) field and would need renovations to remove seats near sidelines. FIFA made similar demands ahead of 1994 but backed off and allowed some narrower surfaces.
B次元官网网址淲e have to move out some of the pinch points,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 have any material aspect on capacity.B次元官网网址�
The Detroit area, where the old hosted games, was cut in 2018 and BaltimoreB次元官网网址檚 M&T Bank Stadium was the capital areaB次元官网网址檚 contender after FedEx dropped out in April. WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 RFK Stadium was used in 1994.
, citing FIFAB次元官网网址檚 demands.
In contrast to the 1992 site announcement during a news conference, the 2026 announcement was made during a show broadcast from FoxB次元官网网址檚 studio in Manhattan.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 grown so much in my lifetime,B次元官网网址� U.S. star Christian Pulisic said, B次元官网网址渁nd IB次元官网网址檓 hoping that it can even take that next step.B次元官网网址�
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
