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USA, Mexico, Canada to Host 2026 FIFA World Cup

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A joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada to host the 2026 World Cup handily defeated a bid from Morocco on Wednesday, bringing the tournament to North America for the first time since 1994.

The bid, which won in a vote of 134-65, promised record attendance and record profits for FIFA, soccer’s governing body — a projected $11 billion.

It will be the first time the World Cup is hosted by three countries, though most of the matches, including the final, will take place in the United States. Of the 80 games, 60 will take place in the US and 10 each in Canada and Mexico. The final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The joint bid offered practically a ready-made tournament for the expanded 48-team field, including 23 modern stadiums already built. In Qatar, the 2022 host, dozens of workers have already died in the effort to build new stadiums in the brutal desert heat.

The announcement comes a day before the 2018 World Cup kicks off in Russia — without the United States, which failed to qualify for the first time since 1986.