2026 World Cup Cities Revealed: Who Was Selected?
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We’re still more than five months away from the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but fans can start making plans for 2026. FIFA revealed the host cities for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday afternoon, awarding the games to 11 cities in the United States, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada.
2022 World Cup Host Cities
Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
Boston (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA)
Dallas (AT&T Stadium)
Houston (NRG Stadium)
Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)
Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)
Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
New York (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ)
Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)
San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium)
Seattle (Lumen Field)
Toronto (BMO Field)
Vancouver (BC Place)
Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)
Mexico City (Estadio Azteca)
Monterrey (Estadio BBVA)
Who Wasn’t Selected?
16 cities were selected out of 22 candidates, leaving six empty-handed: Baltimore (M&T Bank Stadium), Nashville (Nissan Stadium), Orlando (Camping World Stadium), Cincinnati (Paul Brown Stadium), Denver (Mile High Stadium), and Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium) all fell short of a bid In addition to those six, Los Angeles’ bid for the Rose Bowl in neighboring Pasadena was also passed over.
Baltimore (+320) entered Thursday’s announcement with the best odds of any city not selected, while Cincinnati was the longest shot at +1000. Of the 16 cities chosen, Kansas City (+105) entered Thursday with the worst odds.
What Should You Expect in 2026?
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams, expanding from the 32-team format that has been in place since 1998. The competition will also expand from 64 games to 80 games as a result. 60 games will be hosted by the United States, while the remaining 20 will be split by Canada and Mexico. Despite the expanded field, the 2026 tournament will still be played in the standard 32 days.
No American venues used primarily for soccer were chosen, as none met FIFA’s minimum capacity requirement of 40,000 fans. All 11 American venues selected today play host to NFL teams in the winter, the newest being SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Some, such as Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, also host an MLS team. Though this year’s World Cup is being played in November and December, the 2026 tournament is set to return to its typical summer slot and avoid any conflicts with the NFL.
The North American bid for the 2026 World Cup was accepted in June of 2018 over a bid by Morocco. 2026 will be the first World Cup played on American soil since 1994, when the field was still limited to 24 teams. The tournament was split across nine venues in 1994, three of which have since been demolished. New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Dallas are the only four cities to be chosen as a host in both 1994 and 2026. Despite the Rose Bowl and Orlando’s Camping World Stadium being in the running, no venue used in 1994 will also be used in 2026.
Mexico previously hosted the World Cup by itself in 1970 and 1986, while Canada has never hosted the Men’s World Cup but did host the Women’s World Cup in 2015.
