Fifa vows an 'invasion' for 2026 Cup

NEW YORK • Fifa president Gianni Infantino warned Canada, Mexico and the United States to prepare for a football "invasion" on Thursday as the host cities for the 2026 World Cup were revealed.

The first World Cup co-hosted by three different countries will also see a record number of teams taking part, increasing by 16 from 32 to 48 as the tournament returns to North America for the first time since the 1994 Finals.

The 16 venues named on Thursday consist of 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

All of the games on American soil will be held in venues that are home to National Football League (NFL) teams, with the US$5 billion (S$6.9 billion) SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the New York Giants' 82,000-seater MetLife Stadium tipped to host the final.

The likes of Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston and Philadelphia were also picked, but Washington, D.C. and Baltimore's joint-bid was rejected.

The 2026 tournament will be the first since the 1974 Finals in then West Germany not to feature a host's capital city.

Mexico City's iconic Azteca Stadium - host of the 1970 and 1986 Finals - was included along with the cities of Monterrey and Guadalajara, while Vancouver and Toronto will stage the Canadian games.

A total of 60 of the 80 matches - including all knockout ties from the quarter-finals - will take place in the US.

While the 1994 Finals in the US still hold the record for the overall biggest attendance of 3,587,538 and helped to establish Major League Soccer, football still lags behind the "Big Four"sports in North America - American football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey.

But Infantino has high hopes the 2026 Finals will be the second coming of the sport on the continent and eclipse 1994.

"2026 will be much, much bigger," the Swiss-Italian said.

"I think this part of the world doesn't realise what will happen in 2026. These three countries will be turned upside down and then flipped again.

"The world will be invading Canada, Mexico and the United States. They will be invaded by a big wave of joy and happiness."

Throwing down the gauntlet for football to overtake the "Big Four" in popularity, Infantino added: "In this part of the world, you are leading the world in many areas. But in the No. 1 sport in the world, soccer or football, you are not, yet.

"The objective must be that you are leading the world in the world's No. 1 sport."

A decision on which venues will host marquee matches such as the final and opening game will be taken at a later date, but given the vast geographical spread of the tournament, Fifa is looking at basing teams in regional "clusters" to minimise travel.

"When you're dealing with such a large region as North America we need to care about the fans and make sure that teams are playing in clusters, that fans and teams don't have to travel crazy distances," Infantino said.

On NFL stadiums being used as the venues, Colin Smith, Fifa's chief competitions and events officer, said: "The number of fans who are going to be able to experience this World Cup will probably be double than what we've previously had. World Cup 1994 holds the record for attendance - and that's going to be blown out of the water."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE