Fifa World Cup draw in Vegas on Dec 5: Reports
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The 2026 Fifa World Cup draw is set to take place on Dec 5.
PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES – Las Vegas will play host to the 2026 World Cup draw on Dec 5, according to multiple reports on July 30.
ESPN and broadcaster TUDN Mexico said that the city had been picked for the draw of the expanded 48-team global football event, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In all, 12 groups of four teams will be drawn. Mexico (Group A), Canada (Group B) and the United States (Group D) have already been selected for their groups.
The draw ceremony was also conducted in Las Vegas when the US played host to the 1994 World Cup. Vegas was reportedly selected over cities in Canada and Mexico this time.
However, Fifa officials have not officially confirmed the date or site.
Pachuca executive Pedro Cedillo, who is campaigning for Mexico to be the site for World Cup training camps, recently told ESPN he expected the draw to take place in Vegas.
“Dec 5, if I’m not mistaken, is precisely the day the draw takes place, or at the beginning of December,” he said.
“I understand it will be in Las Vegas.”
ESPN’s original report said that The Sphere, a 17,500-seat venue which opened in 2023, was seen as the front runner for the draw site.
But Sphere sources confirmed to AFP that the World Cup draw would not take place there and ESPN later reported that Sphere sources told the sports network it would not be held there.
In 1994, the draw was staged in Las Vegas even though it was not a host city for any matches, a situation that is also the case for the 2026 edition.
Reuters said that Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium was rejected as a host venue.
Eleven US cities were selected, along with three in Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey) and two in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver).
The 2026 World Cup sites are divided into three regions.
New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, Atlanta and Toronto feature in the Eastern region. Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey are in the Central region. Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Vancouver make up the Western region.
Besides the three hosts, only 10 other teams have qualified for the World Cup so far. They are Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Argentina, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Brazil and Ecuador.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will host the final on July 19, 2026.
In other news, Fifa has inaugurated a regional office in Morocco – the first in North Africa and fifth in the continent – as the kingdom ramps up preparations for the 2030 World Cup which it will host jointly with Spain and Portugal.
“This is a day that will be written in golden letters in the magnificent history of Fifa, African football, Moroccan football and world football,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino at the inauguration ceremony on July 26.
The inauguration, also attended by the head of the African Football Confederation, Patrice Motsepe, took place before the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, the capital where Morocco faced Nigeria. The Nigerians won 3-2.
Morocco will be the second African nation to host the World Cup, following South Africa’s edition in 2010.
This follows five unsuccessful bids by the kingdom.
Fifa’s other African offices are located in Senegal, Congo, Rwanda and South Africa. AFP, REUTERS
