The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico after they beat Morocco by a margin of 69 votes to host the tournament which will be expanded to 48 teams for the first time.
The Moroccan bid used its final address to Fifa congress to point out that the country has a ban on weapons and would not hike up ticket prices to increase profit, a thinly veiled swipe at their rivals. But it was not enough to sway the room as they lost the vote, with the United bid receiving 134 votes to their 65.
The USA-led bid was judged by a Fifa taskforce to be vastly superior to their north African rivals on technical grounds, with a total of 23 stadiums, already built or under construction, at their disposal. The Moroccan bid, while enticing some federations with its commitment to fan engagement in a footballing nation, would have had to build or renovate all of the 14 stadiums in its bid book.
That difference, alongside the promise of £4b in extra profit for the federations, was enough to convince some undecided voters to side with the United campaign. The United bid opened their final 15 minute pitch by handing the stage to Canadian Alphonso Davies, a 17-year-old born in a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana. “In Canada, they’ve welcomed me and I know they’ll welcome you,” he said.
Source: The Guardian