In which countries will the 2026 World Cup be played?
- March 10, 2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This event will be historic for many reasons: it will be the first with 48 teams and, above all, the first to be played in three countries simultaneously. These three countries have joined forces to organize this football festival, which begins on June 11 and ends on July 19, 2026. In total, there are 16 host cities.
Which cities will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The World Cup host cities are as follows: Canada (2 cities):
Toronto (BMO Field) and Vancouver (BC Place). It will be the first time the Canadians have hosted matches of a Men's World Cup, and they're sure to bring all the excitement.
Mexico (3 cities): Guadalajara (Akron Stadium), Mexico City (Azteca Stadium), and Monterrey (BBVA Stadium). Mexico previously hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, so the Azteca, which will open the tournament, will be hosting its third World Cup. Pure history!
United States (11 cities): Atlanta, Boston (Foxborough), Dallas (Arlington), Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles (Inglewood), Miami (Miami Gardens), New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford), Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara), and Seattle. The U.S. is once again the primary host (as in 1994), and the final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
How does FIFA select the host countries for the World Cup?
FIFA selects the host (or hosts) through a bidding process that typically lasts several years. The procedure is as follows:
- FIFA opens a period where member federations (or groups of them) express interest in applying.
- Minimum criteria are defined: infrastructure (stadiums with capacity, transport, security), sustainability, human rights, sporting legacy and continental rotation (although the latter was made more flexible for 2026).
- Those interested submit a detailed dossier with plans, government guarantees, and impact studies.
- FIFA reviews proposals (technical, financial, legal) and can disqualify those that do not comply. Sometimes there are inspection visits.
- The FIFA Congress (with delegates from the 211 federations) votes in an assembly. The candidacy with the most votes wins (in 2018 it was by simple majority).
By 2026, the continental rotation was adjusted (Europe and Asia were excluded because they had hosted in 2018 and 2022), and multiple co-hosting was permitted due to the tournament's scale. The result: a World Cup uniting North America, with Mexico opening at the Azteca Stadium, Canada making its debut as a host, and the USA closing in New Jersey.
Why will the 2026 World Cup be held in 3 countries?
The 2026 World Cup will be held in three countries—Canada, Mexico, and the United States—because FIFA decided in 2018 to select the joint bid “United 2026” with 134 votes to Morocco's 65. This was the first time a three-way co-hosting arrangement had been permitted since Japan and South Korea shared the tournament in 2002 (co-hosting was previously prohibited).
Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. submitted a unified bid in 2017, after each had considered bidding separately. The idea was to leverage existing North American infrastructure (large stadiums, airports, hotels, and prior experience: Mexico hosted in 1970 and 1986, the U.S. in 1994) to host an expanded tournament with 48 teams and 104 matches, something impossible for a single country without incurring enormous costs.