Denver snubbed, not selected as a host city for 2026 World Cup
Jun 16, 2022, 3:34 PM | Updated: 3:41 pm
The planet’s most prominent soccer competition is only months away, set to take place in Qatar. But a big soccer announcement regarding the next FIFA World Cup—in 2026— was made on Thursday.
FIFA announced that Denver was not chosen as a host city for 2026. Denver was a candidate host site with games that would’ve taken place at Empower Field.
It is the first World Cup hosted by the U.S. since 1994, which kick-started the sport’s popularity with Major League Soccer launching around the same time. This tournament is expected to take soccer fever to the next level in America.
The U.S.A. is not the only home, as this World Cup will be jointly hosted by neighbors Canada and Mexico. The tournament will consist of 60 matches in 16 cities, with America getting 50 of those matches. Each Canada and Mexico had narrowed their pool to three candidate cities, while the U.S. had 17 sites over 16 cities as possibilities for the final selection process.
In total, Denver won’t be one of the 16 cities hosting the tournament. This will be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, expanding from 32. The 2026 edition is also supposed to feature a much-improved USMNT as the group has gotten much younger and the soccer federation targets this tournament.
Cities that will host are: Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium,) San Francisco, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Monterrey Mexico City, Guadalajara, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York
Denver was thought to have a great chance when bid cities were announced, especially after recent success with national team soccer. Denver showed off hosting Nations League in 2021, a tournament the Americans won. You have to wonder if the fire at Empower Field hurt Denver’s bid.
Sometime in the next hour, FIFA will announce which cities in the US, Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup. Denver is on the list vying to host the world’s biggest soccer tournament. I’m at a watch party downtown and will thread updates here pic.twitter.com/F6o16WYP1D
— Marc Sallinger (@MarcSallinger) June 16, 2022
