Soccer fans in Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton are holding their breath as the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) is set to announce the host cities for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday.
A total of 22 cities are running in Canada, the United States and Mexico, triple partners of the global event.
Toronto Mayor John Tory enthusiastically endorsed the 2018 Queen City bid. BMO field has hosted many friendly and qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup for senior men’s and women’s national teams.
For its part, Montreal toyed with the idea of unveiling its candidacy, but the city backed out last year, citing a lack of funding caused by the withdrawal of support from the Quebec government.
Montreal’s departure influenced the choice to relaunch Vancouver’s candidacy, which withdrew from the list of potential host cities in 2018.
Vancouver hosted 9 soccer matches at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, which garnered more than 50,000 fans.
Looking at New York
In Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver, all eyes are on New York on Thursday, where FIFA officials are set to announce the selected cities.
In Vancouver, provincial Tourism and Sports Minister Melanie Mark will join Indigenous leaders at the stadium BC area for celebration.
Hosting this event will be a unique opportunity for an entire generation of soccer fanslaunched the Minister when Vancouver formalized its candidacy.
The mayor of Edmonton is in the stadium Commonwealth in the company of soccer fans.
Mexico also has three candidate cities, while the United States has 16.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
