Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver vie for selection as FIFA set to announce 2026 World Cup host cities

FIFA is set to announce its host cities for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday with Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver the three Canadian cities seeking selection. 

In all, 22 candidate cities have raised their hand to stage matches for the expanded 48-team men's tournament that will be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The announcement will be made at a news conference in New York.

Recent reports have suggested that FIFA could select 10-12 host cities from the U.S. for the tournament, Mexico with three and Canada reduced to two. 

Montreal dropped out last August after the Quebec provincial government withdrew its support, citing cost overruns that would have been difficult to justify to taxpayers. It was replaced in April by Vancouver, which made an initial bid in 2017, then withdrew in 2018 with Premier John Horgan citing the unknown costs of hosting the event.

The provincial government changed its mind last summer with Melanie Mark, B.C.'s minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport, saying hosting the event would be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for soccer fans and the province's tourism sector.

Vancouver hosted nine games during the 2015 Women's World Cup, including the final, which drew more than 50,000 fans. Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium also hosted games in 2015.

Toronto was not part of the 2015 Women's World Cup, instead hosting the Pan-American Games.

If Toronto and Vancouver are selected, both will have work to do.

WATCH | Canada Soccer's lack of leadership exposed: 

Cancelled Iran match highlights Canada Soccer’s lack of leadership on the biggest stage

2 years ago

Duration 3:59

CBC Sports' Chris Jones breaks down the cancelled Canada Soccer friendly against Iran and his criticisms of the lack of leadership exhibited by the organization.

Vancouver's BC Place has an artificial playing surface which would need to be replaced. FIFA requires all World Cup games must take place on natural grass. 

Toronto's BMO Field will need to be expanded to bring it up to the FIFA minimum capacity of 40,000-plus. BMO Field's current capacity for a soccer match is listed at 30,000. Toronto FC president Bill Manning says those plans for increased capacity have already been submitted as part of Toronto's bid process.

The Major League Soccer club is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Argonauts and Marlies.

'Everything is done in-house by FIFA'

Alan Rothenberg, former president of U.S. Soccer, thought back to when stadiums were picked for the 1994 tournament he headed in the United States.

"They gave the rights to the host country, and the host country basically ran the whole thing," he said. "Here, everything is done in-house by FIFA. So it's been a really long and arduous process. The terms have been incredibly difficult for cities to cope with."

Seventeen stadiums in 16 areas remain in contention to be among 10-12 selected from the U.S. The U.S. will host 60 of the 80 games under FIFA's plan, including all from the quarter-finals on, and there was little doubt over the venues for 10 games each in the other nations.

In handicapping the bidders, there appeared to be several tiers:

"This country has even more than 17 cities capable of hosting the World Cup, and it will be a pity for those that miss out," said Telemundo's Andres Cantor, who has broadcast the tournament since 1990 and will co-host the announcement. "But I don't think it's going to take away from the desire of the soccer fan to attend the game, wherever their country lands in 2026."

Rothenberg said the decision remained uncertain in the final week between SoFi, which may need pricey renovations to create a wider field, and the Rose Bowl.

"Even to this moment, there's calls going on all day long trying to sort it out," he said Tuesday. "There will be discussions between the LA host committee and FIFA right up almost to the moment of the announcement. The costs of LA are a huge part of the difficulty."

1st 48-nation World Cup

Just two of the contending stadiums hosted games in 1994, the Rose Bowl joined by Orlando. Dozens of training complexes have been built for MLS teams, creating a far better infrastructure than at the first World Cup in the U.S., when Italy worked out at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, N.J., and the U.S. practiced ahead of its opener on a wind-swept field at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

All U.S. stadiums forecast capacities of 60,000 or larger. Three have retractable roofs and one a fixed roof. Ten have artificial turf but would switch to temporary grass.

This will be the first 48-nation World Cup, up from the 32-team format used since 1998. In a tournament likely to run from June 11 to July 12, but possibly start and end a week later, there will be 16 groups of three nations. Each team will play two first-round games instead of three as part of an awkward arrangement in which one nation in each group opens against an opponent who will have already played. The top two in each group advance to a 32-nation knockout bracket.

Revenue has skyrocketed: The 1994 Cup drew a record 3.59 million fans and grossed $580 million US, which produced a profit of $133.25 million for FIFA and $50 million for the U.S. organizing committee. FIFA said the 2018 World Cup in Russia produced $5.357 billion in revenue over the four-year cycle and a $3.533 billion surplus.

Rothenberg anticipates many of U.S. states and cities will refuse to comply.

"I think that's a fair assumption in most of the jurisdictions. Some of them, they may just build it into the stadium price and other things, but getting an actual waiver may be difficult," he said. "Ultimately, it just means another cost that the host committee, host city, is going to be responsible for."

Candidates, cities and stadiums

Canada

Edmonton, Commonwealth Stadium; Toronto, BMO Field; Vancouver, B.C. Place Stadium.

Mexico

Guadalajara, Estadio Akron; Mexico City, Estadio Azteca; Monterrey, Estadio BBVA.

United States

Arlington, Texas, AT&T Stadium; Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium; Cincinnati, Paul Brown Stadium; Denver, Empower Field at Mile High; East Rutherford, N.J., MetLife Stadium; Foxborough, Mass., Gillette Stadium; Houston, NRG Stadium; Inglewood, Calif., SoFi Stadium; Kansas City, Mo., Arrowhead Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla., Hard Rock Stadium; Nashville, Tenn., Nissan Stadium; Orlando, Fla., Camping World Stadium; Pasadena, Calif., Rose Bowl; Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field; Santa Clara, Calif., Levi's Stadium; Seattle, Lumen Field.