Four summers from now, 48 countries will vie for the 2026 World Cup as the tournament is staged in cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
FIFA, soccer's international governing body, announced these will be the host cities for 2026:
– Vancouver– Seattle– San Francisco– Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)– Guadalajara, Mexico– Kansas City– Dalla– Atlanta
– Houston– Monterrey, Mexico– Mexico City– Toronto– Boston– Philadelphia– Miami– New York/New Jersey
Eleven sites are in the U.S., three are in Mexico, and two in Canada. Locations for particular matches, including the sites of the opening matches and final, will be announced later.
This will be the first time that the tournament will include 48 teams, instead of the current 32-team format. It will also be the first time the tournament is staged across three host nations.
Cities that were not selected include Cincinnati; Denver; Edmonton, Canada; Nashville, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; and Baltimore.
The "main" opening match will likely take place in either Los Angeles or Mexico City – both cities that have previously hosted World Cup finals.
The U.S., Canada and Mexico were selected as the winning bid in 2018, beating out Morocco. The U.S. previously hosted the World Cup in 1994; Mexico hosted the tournament in 1970 and 1986.
But long before the world's soccer fans arrive in North America, there's the 2022 World Cup, taking place in host nation Qatar. The tournament begins Nov. 21 and runs through Dec. 18.