Chicago may not be a part of the North American bid for the 2026 World Cup anymore, but 23 cities still remain a part of the effort to bring the premier soccer tournament to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. If FIFA ultimately selects the United 2026 bid, 16 of those cities would host games.
Eighteen of the 23 cities listed by the official website are located in the U.S., but Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Charlotte are among those that have already bowed out of the process. On Thursday, mayor Rahm Emanuel cited concerns over funding and “FIFA’s inflexibility and unwillingness to negotiate” as reasons not to move forward as part of the bid.
The following 23 cities remain:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Cincinnati
- Dallas
- Denver
- Edmonton
- Guadalajara
- Houston
- Kansas City
- Los Angeles
- Mexico City
- Miami
- Monterrey
- Montreal
- Nashville
- New York/New Jersey
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- San Francisco/Bay Area
- Seattle
- Toronto
- Washington, D.C.
From this list, 16 cities would be selected to actually host games. Here’s the geographical spread of the cities from the official website.
Chicago would’ve been a good candidate given its location and already existing infrastructure, but it’s out now. If the World Cup comes to America in 2026, these are the places where those games would be played instead.
