Russia 2018 is still far down the road, with the earliest stages of the qualification process having only just begun, and Qatar 2022 is just a distant speck on the horizon.
But FIFA are already looking ahead to the bidding process for hosting rights to the 2026 World Cup.
The sport's international governing body revealed on Friday that the host of the 2026 tournament will be announced in May 2017, signaling that the next competition for the right to welcome the world's biggest sporting event is just around the corner.
The United States, Canada and Mexico have all signaled their interest in hosting the 2026 World Cup, while CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb stated in October that his region deserves hosting rights for the tournament. The US narrowly lost out to Qatar in the final vote on the 2022 event.
The hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were awarded simultaneously in December 2010, in a departure from the usual bidding process. That bidding cycle officially began in March 2009.
