FIFA’s global governing body has announced the venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will receive sports betting. The announcement was made in a ceremony in New York City, with Gianni Infantino, the organisation’s president.
For the first time ever, the tournament will be jointly hosted by three countries – USA, Canada and Mexico. Sixty of its 80 matches will be played in the United States, including all quarter-finals, semifinals and finals.
About the venues in the United States
FIFA has selected 16 of the 22 eligible cities, including 11 from the United States. The World Cup will be hosted by two cities each. The states of California are Los Angeles and San Francisco and Texas will host Houston and Dallas. As well as
- Miami;
- Seattle;
- Kansas City;
- Philadelphia;
- Atlanta;
This also includes Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, which is jointly represented in the bid by New Jersey and New York.
Among those left out of the tournament is a joint bid by the US capital, Washington DC, and Baltimore, a city located in Maryland. It was represented by M&T Bank Stadium, which is the home arena of the Baltimore Ravens American Football Club.
No stadium that hosted the first U.S. World Cup in 1994 made the final list of championship hosts.
Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. and Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., which hosted the ’94 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy, competed for the right to host the games of the upcoming championship.
About the venues in Canada and Mexico
Two cities in Canada – Vancouver and Toronto – and three cities in Mexico – Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City – will also host the 2026 World Cup.
The Azteca stadium in the Mexican capital, the largest in Latin America, will be the first-ever football arena to host three World Cups. It was the venue for the finals of the 1970 and 1986 championships hosted by Mexico.
World Cup qualifiers, format and dates
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first ever with 48 national teams competing, which surprised even those who take NBA live betting. The number of participants in the final round will be increased for the first time since 1998, when 32 national teams were first qualified for the tournament.
The format will also change. There will be 3 teams in each of 16 preliminary round groups instead of 4 and the best two teams from each group will make the play-offs, which will start from the 1/16 finals.
The exact dates of the tournament, according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, have not yet been decided, nor have the stadiums that will host the World Cup 2026 opening match and final. The provisional dates are from 11 June to 12 July, but the head of the football federation said immediately after the ceremony in New York that further consultations would be needed to make a final decision.