Less than a minute. That's all it took.
15 seconds, the length of time allowed to record votes, plus another half-minute or so to get everything tabulated, set in motion the next eight years of planning -- and to set aside the last eight years of frustration, angst, and resentment, all in one fell swoop.
Eight years after a failed bid to host the 2022 edition came under a firestorm and led to accusations of bribery as well as the ousting of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the North American United bid won the rights to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup early Wednesday morning.
Just before 7 a.m. and some 20 minutes into the fifth hour of the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, FIFA Secretary-General Fatma Samoura announced the final result: a landslide 134-65 tally in favor of United '26, with one national football association -- Iran -- not pledging their vote to either party.
The result means that the World Cup is coming back to the CONCACAF region for the first time in 32 years, and that the United States, Mexico, and Canada’s soccer governing bodies — the US Soccer Federation, Mexican Football Federation, and Canadian Soccer Association, respectively — will now organize the first 48-team World Cup after defeating a weaker bid from Morocco, which has now failed to win its fifth bid to host FIFA’s quadrennial celebration of the Beautiful Game.
The next FIFA Congress -- slated for June 5, '19 in Paris, ahead of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup -- will decide if all three nations receive automatic bids to the expanded tournament. Normally a three-place confederation in the 32-team World Cup, CONCACAF will have three additional spots, up to six, in the World Cup that year.
With Revolution investor/operator and Patriots owner Robert Kraft serving as Honorary Chairman of the Board for United '26, Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium is expected to hold several matches during the month-long tournament -- but there is no guarantee of that. All told, United '26 had placed 23 stadiums in its bid book, and FIFA will pare the list down to 16 in the years leading up to the event.
Should Gillette be used, a grass pitch will be installed in place of the FieldTurf both football clubs utilize, per the United '26 bid book.
The United States will host 60 of the tournament’s 80 matches, with Canada and Mexico hosting 10 each. Canada will host matches in Edmonton, Montreal, and Toronto, while Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara will host Mexican-based matches.
All games from the quarterfinals through the final will be held in the US, with the final slated for East Rutherford, NJ and MetLife Stadium: The American-based stadiums are predominantly NFL-sized, which should maximize revenues to the tune of $14.3 billion, with profits of $11 billion -- a fact that US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro made clear when he and the heads of Canada and Mexico's governing bodies took the stage in Russia Wednesday morning.
"We are humbled by the trust our colleagues in the FIFA family have put in our bid; strengthened by the unity between our three countries and the CONCACAF region, and excited by the opportunity we have to put football on a new and sustainable path for generations to come," Cordeiro said in a statement.
Last month, FIFA found the North American bid to be the more technically-sound of the two bids, with the ability to host the event unabated by the need to build stadiums or other infrastructure, such as hotels. Six stadiums are due for renovations, and Montreal’s Olympic Stadium is expected to undergo a significant renovation to fix its roof — the Quebec government is fitting the bill — and will need other structural issues taken care of.
Had Morocco won the rights to host, its government would have infused $16 billion into the tournament, primarily in the building of nine brand new stadiums and upgrades to several others, as well as building hotels and hospitals.
But the Morocco bid would only have generated $7.2 billion in revenue and $5 billion in profit for FIFA, far short of what the United 2026 bid is expected to rake in.
Morocco had previously failed to win hosting rights to the 1994, 1998, 2006, and 2010 World Cups.
2026 will be the second, a record third, and first men’s World Cups hosted by the United States (1994), Mexico (1970, 1986), and Canada, respectively. The United States and Canada have both hosted the Women’s World Cups three times total, with the most recent event held in Canada (2015).
Eight years ago, in a solo effort, the United States had bid for the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup, only to see it awarded to what many perceived a weaker bid from Qatar.
But after an investigation into allegations of corruption and vote-selling by The Times of London, FIFA would commission New York attorney Michael J. Garcia to complete an independent investigation into the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Garcia’s 350-page report was submitted to FIFA in Sept. ’14, and two months later, FIFA released its findings, clearing Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing — but the same day, Garcia called the summary “materially incomplete.”
FIFA released the full report in June ’17, noting many instances of corruption by Qatar.
FIFA has announced that it will not strip Qatar of hosting duties.
The United States, Mexico, and Canada had planned to submit solo bids to host 2026, but decided to join forces in '17.
BSJ analysis
I'll give you five quick thoughts about the winning bid:
- This was the right decision -- truthfully, the only decision -- to make. Go ahead and call me arrogant, but after the record-setting attendance and revenues/profits from the last World Cup held on these shores in '94, this was a no brainer the moment Morocco announced its candidacy; hell, it should have been a no brainer eight years ago. The US-led bid, then and now, had everything it needed to be successful, from already-built stadiums, to already-built hotels, to the promises of $11 billion in profit, which will find itself shared among the 200-plus football/soccer associations around the globe. Morocco didn't, and even tried to play the geopolitics card as well as the "America-doesn't-like-football" card, which didn't work either.
- After the thievery from Dec. 2, '10 in Zurich, June 13, '18 will go down as a highlight in American soccer history. Had the North Americans not won this vote after what happened that day, I don't think the United States would have been able to host a World Cup ever again, which would have truly been damaging to the further growth of the sport here.
- With Robert Kraft involved in the bid process, I don't see Gillette being taken off the table. I really don't. Despite what Revolution supporters believe regarding his commitment to the MLS club, he has been behind soccer in the United States. I'm fully expecting there to be World Cup football on Route 1 again (and hopefully I get to cover it.... #bucketlist).
- I know there are tons of people who are against this event coming to the United States for a variety of reasons: that it will line the pockets of Soccer United Marketing, that promotion & relegation isn't part of the American Soccer pyramid, what have you. I truly feel sorry for them.
- I'm going to be 49, covering a World Cup. Pinch me.
