Football: 2026 World Cup 'invasion' will develop North America's love for the sport, says Infantino

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - North America's historical ambivalence to football is no match for the spectacle of the 2026 World Cup, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday (June 16), as he bids to make the world's "beautiful game" the preeminent sport in the region as well.

World football's governing body Fifa announced the 16 cities - 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada - that were successful from the 22 bids put forward in a special event at the Rockefeller Centre in New York.

The US will host games in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York/New Jersey.

Mexico, which hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, will stage matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, while Canada, which is staging the men's event for the first time, will do so in Vancouver and Toronto.

Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, Washington DC/Baltimore and Edmonton were the six cities that missed out.

However, there was no indication where the opening game or the final would be played.

"There are still some discussions to go on and we will certainly choose the best cities there as well for the opening and the final, but every match will be a final in this World Cup," Infantino said in televised remarks.

The Swiss boldly pledged that football would overtake all other sports in the region.

It is a tall task in North America: In the US, baseball has long been considered "America's pastime". In Canada, ice hockey is religion, and only Mexico can reasonably claim football as king.

For Infantino, changing that is imperative - if not inevitable.

"This part of the world, these three countries you are leading the world in many areas," he told reporters. "But in the No. 1 sport in the world, which is football or football, you are not - yet.

"And the objective must be that you will be leading the world as well in the world's No. 1 sport."

A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia pulling in 1.12 billion viewers, underscoring the sport's enduring global appeal.

The 1994 World Cup, the last time the US hosted global football's showpiece, sparked a boom in popularity for the sport, with Major League Soccer kicking off its inaugural season two years later.

But the sport has not overtaken the so-called "Big Four" men's professional leagues: Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, National Football League and National Hockey League.

In fact many of the matches in 2026 will take place on reconfigured American football fields, as some now use artificial turf. The 2026 World Cup will be planned on natural grass.

But with passionate fans around the globe planning to travel, Infantino said the region was poised for a football revolution.

"This part of the world doesn't realise what will happen here 2026 - I mean these three countries will be upside down and then flipped again back," said Infantino.

"The world will be invading Canada, Mexico, and the United States and they will be invaded by a big wave of joy and of happiness because that's what football is about."

Cheering fans waving American, Canadian and Mexican flags gathered outside the venue in New York, with US national team member and 23-year-old Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic among those in attendance for the announcement.

San Francisco's Levi's Stadium hosted a private watch party and New York City Mayor Eric Adams was expected at a watch party in New Jersey's Liberty State Park.

Canadian national team player and Toronto native Jonathan Osorio said that as a child, he could not have imagined seeing a World Cup in his home country.

"It's amazing - it's amazing that the World Cup is finally coming to Canada... it's an amazing feat for the whole country," he said.

Celebrities including Michael Buble (representing Vancouver), Magic Johnson (Los Angeles), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City), Formula One driver Sergio Perez (Guadalajara) and Gloria Estefan (Miami) offered on-screen messages celebrating the inclusion of their hometowns.

It will be the first time 48 teams will feature in the tournament - an increase from the 32 that will contest this year's event in Qatar - and the 2026 edition is expected to smash World Cup attendance records, which peaked at 3.6 million when it was held in the US in 1994.

"To be a part of it (the Qatar World Cup) and then to have one in this country is going to be amazing," Pulisic said.