The reported tri-nation North American World Cup hosting bid isn’t official just yet, but it might be on Monday.
The federations of Canada, Mexico and the United States announced on Saturday that their respective presidents will make an “historic announcement” at One World Observatory atop the One World Trade Center in downtown New York City.
US Soccer boss Sunil Gulati, Mexican Football Federation chief Decio de Maria and Victor Montagliani, current president of the Canadian Soccer Association as well as CONCACAF, will headline the event, which is widely expected to be an official unveiling of the three nations’ joint bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Montagliani told The Guardian as much on Thursday in the Caribbean island of Aruba, where CONCACAF is holding its annual congress this weekend.
“Canada, the US and Mexico are aiming for a joint bid, the idea has been around for a while, discussions are continuing and it is a very exciting proposition if it comes to fruition,” Montagliani said. “We have had nothing but positive remarks about it and it is a very strong sign of what football can do to bring countries together.”
The 2026 tournament will be the first under the expanded format approved by FIFA last year, with 48 nations taking part compared to the current 32. According to Montagliani, each of the three countries has the infrastructure to host the tournament on its own, but that a joint bid would be “a fit” with FIFA’s new format.
FIFA announced last year a new process for bidding to host the 2026 World Cup, with countries able to submit their bids from June 2017 through December 2018. FIFA will evaluate each bid from January 2019 to February 2020 before making their final decision at the FIFA congress in May 2020.
The world's most popular sporting event, the World Cup has not been held in North America since USA 1994, which remains the most profitable and best-attended edition in FIFA history.
