The biggest and most popular sporting event on the planet, FIFA World Cup, is coming to Canada in 2026.
This follows the outcome of the historic vote held in Moscow on Wednesday, where the “United Bid” of Canada, Mexico and the United States beat Morocco to win the right to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It will be the first time that the international soccer’s marquee event will touch down on Canadian soil.
The “United Bid,” according to a report by Sportsnet won the vote over Morocco during a special congressional meeting where every single member nation of FIFA, excluding the four potential host countries, cast a ballot.
Mexico previously hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986.
The United States hosted the tournament in 1994.
Canada has never held the competition, but it did host the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
Canada’s only appearance at the World Cup came in 1986 when it lost three of its games and crashed out in the first round.
Historically, the host nation has always automatically qualified for the World Cup.
However, FIFA previously ruled that should the “United bid” beat Morocco, the number of host countries to automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup would be decided by another vote by the FIFA council sometime in the future.
The 2026 World Cup will expand to 48 teams from 32, and will feature a new format of 16 round-robin groups of three teams with the top two from each pool advancing to a 32-nation knockout round.
The tournament will still take place over 32 days.
The “United Bid” calls for the U.S. to host 60 matches, including all games from the quarter-finals through to the final.
READ ALSO: Russia 2018: How Far Can the Super Eagles Fly?
Canada and Mexico would each host 10 games.
Three Canadian cities Edmonton, Montreal, and Toronto – could potentially host matches.
The “United Bid’s” organising committee will now work in conjunction with FIFA to decide which cities will get games, although FIFA makes the final call.
The American candidate cities are Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
The Mexican candidate cities are Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.
In total, 23 cities are part of the “United Bid,” and 16 cities will be selected by FIFA to host games.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday, with host Russia taking on Saudi Arabia at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place in Qatar.
