Ranking potential host cities for 2026 World Cup

By Joe Prince-WrightJun 14, 2018, 9:40 AM EDT
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With the excitement of the 2026 World Cup being awarded to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, a lot of the focus has already switched to one thing: where will the games be played?

[ MORE: Full details on 2026 World Cup ]

Given the huge distances between potential host cities, the envy of certain stadiums being on the list of 23 potential venues is very real across some parts of the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

But with that initial list of 23 cities set to be whittled down to 16 in the coming years, and the likes of Vancouver and Chicago not even making that final list as both pulled out, it is a ridiculously tough decision to finalize where the World Cup games will be played.

Below is a ranking of the potential 23 host cities, with seven to miss out.

With the joint bid involving the USA, Mexico and Canada but 60 of the 80 games to be played in the U.S., you would think that a fair distribution of 10 U.S. cities and three each for Mexico and Canada is what the bid is looking at as their aim is to reach as many people as possible across all three countries.

But, when you think about it, maybe 12 U.S. cities and two each from Mexico and Canada would work a little better. With that in mind, we have two scenarios below as the geography of spreading the games out across North America is extremely tough. 

Here’s a look at where we think the games will be played during the 2026 World Cup but, of course, a lot can change in the next eight years…

Scenario 1 – (10 U.S. cities, 3 Mexican cities, 3 Canadian cities)

  1. New York/New Jersey – MetLife Stadium
  2. Mexico City – Azteca Stadium
  3. Toronto – BMO Field
  4. Los Angeles – Rose Bowl
  5. Boston – Gillete Stadium
  6. Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
  7. Dallas – AT&T Stadium
  8. Washington D.C. – FedEx Field
  9. Atlanta – Mercedes Benz Stadium
  10. Montreal – Olympic Stadium
  11. Monterrey – Estadio BBVA Bancomer
  12. San Francisco/San Jose – Levi’s Stadium
  13. Guadalajara – Estadio Akron
  14. Kansas City – Arrowhead Stadium
  15. Seattle – CenturyLink Field
  16. Edmonton – Commonwealth Stadium

Seven cities to miss out

  1. Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field
  2. Houston – NRG Stadium
  3. Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
  4. Cincinnati – Paul Brown Stadium
  5. Denver – Mile High Stadium
  6. Nashville – Nissan Stadium
  7. Orlando – Camping World Stadium

Scenario 2 – (12 U.S. cities, 2 Mexican cities, 2 Canadian cities)

  1. New York/New Jersey – MetLife Stadium
  2. Mexico City – Azteca Stadium
  3. Toronto – BMO Field
  4. Los Angeles – Rose Bowl
  5. Boston – Gillete Stadium
  6. Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
  7. Dallas – AT&T Stadium
  8. Washington D.C. – FedEx Field
  9. Atlanta – Mercedes Benz Stadium
  10. Houston – NRG Stadium
  11. San Francisco/San Jose – Levi’s Stadium
  12. Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field
  13. Montreal – Olympic Stadium
  14. Monterrey – Estadio BBVA Bancomer
  15. Kansas City – Arrowhead Stadium
  16. Seattle – CenturyLink Field

Seven cities to miss out

  1. Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
  2. Denver – Mile High Stadium
  3. Cincinnati – Paul Brown Stadium
  4. Nashville – Nissan Stadium
  5. Orlando – Camping World Stadium
  6. Edmonton – Commonwealth Stadium
  7. Guadalajara – Estadio Akron