US, Mexico, Canada join to launch 2026 World Cup bid

The United States, Mexico and Canada are joining together and will enter a bid to host the 2026 World Cup.

The
announcement was made Monday afternoon in a press conference hosted by
the federations of the three countries at One World Observatory in New
York.

The bid also comes at a time while the current US
president, Donald Trump, has implemented an aggressive stance on
immigration enforcement and wants to build a wall at the US-Mexico
border.

“We have the full support of the United States government
in this project,” United States Soccer Federation President Sunil
Gulati said. “The President of the United States is fully supportive and
encouraged us to have this joint bid. He is especially pleased that
Mexico is part of this bid — and that’s in the last few days we’ve
gotten further encouragement on that.

“So we’re not at all
concerned about some of the issues that other people may raise. We
looked at bidding alone and decided in the end we wanted to bid with our
partners in North America, and we have a strong encouragement from
President Trump to that very end.”

FIFA, soccer’s governing body,
is expected to name the host for 2026 in May 2020, which is the final
year of Trump’s first presidential term. Because of US presidential term
limits, Trump would not be in office in 2026.

“For the
Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, and the entire Mexican soccer family, it
is a source of pride to be candidates, along with the United States and
Canada, to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026,” Mexican Football Federation
President Decio de Maria said through a press release. “We have a
unique opportunity to be the first country to host three World Cups. As
such we are filled with pride and committed to make it the best ever.”

The
last time FIFA chose hosts for men’s World Cups the decision was mired
in controversy. In December 2010, the governing body announced that
Russia and Qatar, respectively, will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
But in the years following, FIFA has had to investigate claims that
bribery influenced the voting process.

North America last held a
men’s World Cup in 1994, when it was hosted by the US. The US also
hosted women’s World Cups in 2003 and 1999, while Mexico has hosted
men’s World Cups in 1986 and 1970, and Canada had the women’s World Cup
in 2015.

“I really thank Sunil’s open mindedness and U.S.
Soccer’s open mindedness and Mexico’s open mindedness,” Canadian Soccer
Association President Victor Montagliani said. “I think it’s a testament
to I think also how football has changed in our region.”

The only other time multiple nations have hosted the World Cup was in 2002, when it was held in South Korea and Japan.

In January, FIFA announced it would expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams starting in 2026.