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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.FIFA awards 2026 World Cup to U.S., Mexico and Canada
By Simon Evans MOSCOW©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
17 Comments
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Bintaro
Well, talk about awkward !
Thankfully, the USA doesn't care about soccer.
goldorak
Better than Qatar 2022 (obviously) but I am still not sold on the idea of a 48-team WC. Uzbekistan v Burkina Faso in Salt Lake City anyone?
Kitsap
Great. Yet another thing for everyone to whine about.
Jimizo
Yes. However, FIFA couldn’t give a crap about real football fans.
The majority of Americans and Canadians couldn’t give a crap about football itself.
FIFA gives a crap about getting China in the World Cup.
Crap.
CrazyJoe
Hmmm, jointly hosting the World Cup with 2 of our newest and greatest enemies. How's that going to work out?
Raw Beer
Does that mean all three countries will automatically qualify to play at the event?
lostrune2
As expected, they played it safe - the expanded 48-team tournament goes to the United bid
When you're entering into new territory by expanding to a whopping 48 teams, there'll be a lot of unexpected bugs that would need to be ironed out for future 48-team World Cups, so ya have to minimize the unknowns and the risks. The United bid has all the facilities already built; there's enough hotel rooms; transportation can handle the traffic; no need for major infrastructure investments. That leads to $11B of profit - which I'm sure also helped their cause with FIFA member nations getting their slices bigger
And since it's a whopping 48 teams, I'd be surprised if Canada, Mexico, and the US don't all get automatic spots
Soccer isn't in the US' 4 major pro sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL), but that's partly due to those leagues being the planet's pinnacle pro league of their respective sport with the world's best players (so that's tough to beat)
On the other hand, the 1994 US World Cup is still the most attended World Cup by far, and it's pro league MLS already averages more than even France's Ligue 1 and Holland's Eredivisie
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3292354/MLS-attendances-soaring-America-finally-embraced-beautiful-game.html
* Seattle Sounders are the second best supported side in the Western hemisphere, surpassed only by Liverpool
* America's top division has a higher average attendance than France's Ligue 1 and Holland's Eredivisie
Because the US has such a huge population, even just a portion of that population who enjoys soccer still translates to a heck of a lot of people (i.e. a less-than-majority of 330 million people is still more than many countries' whole populations)
There's enough Canadians and Americans who could afford it; Mexico maybe not as much
Feel bad for fans outside North America though
smithinjapan
How will they manage that with the US declaring war on both nations? Ah, Trump will be long dead before then and perhaps things in the US slightly more sane.
tooheysnew
Lostrune2 - well said.
Alex80
USA-Canada-Mexico together? That sounds really ironic, considering the current situation. We are living in crazy times.
TrevorPeace
@Jimizo, you obviously know nothing about sport in Canada, where soccer (known as football outside Canada and the US, where 'football' involves huge guys in padded uniforms) is the most popular sport, after hockey. I know, I've played, coached and officiated it.
Ah_so
A fairly recent development. It was widely also known as soccer even in the UK until quite recently:
http://thefootballattic.blogspot.com/2013/01/stick-with-soccer-daily-mirror-sticker.html
If they published that today people would claim that the Americans had taken over.
bass4funk
What a bunch of crap! Soccer is very popular with the younger generation and getting bigger. I know we dominate in most games normally, but give us some time and we’ll kick butt and beat most of y’all one day.
bass4funk
Doubt it. Considering what his doctor said and being in pretty much very good health for his age you probably could outlive all of us here on JT.
Ah_so
People have been saying that for 30 years.