By Paul Nicholson
January 23 – The United 2026 World Cup bid heavyweights are on the road, locked and loaded with persuasive arguments and reasoning for why they are the only choice for hosting 2026. Absent were expensive gifts, brown paper bags of cash or even watches (not even Mickey Mouse ones) to shower their voting constituency with. For the faithful, FIFA 2.0 is a serious commitment.
Victor Montagliani (pictured far right), Sunil Gulati (left) and Decio de Maria (Canada/Concacaf, US and Mexico’s football supremos) made a flying visit to London today (on their way to Zurich) as they kick started their international lobbying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
From being nailed on certainties to get 2026, the entrance of Morocco and the elevating boost its bid has been given by US president Donald Trump’s “shithole countries” comment, has taken some of the sting out of the UNITED 2026 punch.
But it still has a punch and a pretty hefty one. Gulati said that the White House was “big with its support, and we need that support.” He also said that there would be no issue with the bid getting all of the guarantees needed for FIFA in terms allowing teams and fans from all countries (regardless of their plumbing) to participate.
That may not be enough to convince all of the world’s poorly plumbed football nations to vote for the UNITED bid over Morocco (plumbing situation unclear) as Trump has most definitely left a stinky mess for Gulati, Montagliani, and to a lesser extent de Maria (he after all comes from the other side of Trump’s wall – perhaps via a tunnel) to clear up.
As with all problems of this magnitude, money (ironically the root of football evil in their region recently as the US Department of Justice keeps showing us) could well be the answer. Gulati said that whatever their voting intentions there is a direct line between funding FIFA’s programmes around the world and what happens commercially at the World Cup.
The UNITED bid has the promise of a record-breaking financial delivery as one of its three under-pinning pillars. “This is why the World Cup in North America is good for the world,” said Gulati. More money from the World Cup means more money for FIFA’s 200+ federations – that is something they always vote for, if recent history is to be a guide.
The commercial argument for a mega-money World Cup is compelling for FIFA. The US has a population of 500 million who Gulati points out have “extraordinary purchasing power”. Combine that with corporate America’s spending power and financial records can be pretty much be guaranteed.
Gulati would not say how much more revenue could be expected to be generated but he did point to the potential attendance stats as a guide. USA 94 still holds the World Cup total attendance record with 3.4 million. 2026 in the three North American countries would have 5 million tickets plus all the hospitality and commercial opportunity that goes with them.
While financial delivery is a pillar of the thee amigos’ strategy, the other two are that it is a unified bid and that there is certainty in the bid.
Certainty essentially means all the stadiums already in place, a contribution to a legacy that does not see stadiums built that are left unused once the World Cup leaves. “The idea is not to build venues,” said Gulati.
Montagliani painted a wider picture: “It is a tremendous opportunity for the three nations and our region. It is an opportunity internally and externally. It is an opportunity to grow the sport even to another level. Our countries are populated by the world. It is an opportunity to give thanks to the world by hosting the biggest event in the world,” he said.
It is a simple but actually well made point, one that Trump doesn’t understand. Montagliani also said the idea of the three countries co-operating to host is not such a big idea really. “It is something that is second-nature to us. We already have teams in other sports playing in the same leagues.”
The technical side of the bid UNITED was always going to be a major strength. Even if the US men’s team now seems to struggle to be able to perform at the top level in the big venues, the country certainly knows how to build and operate them.
The riches on offer in this area are so great that the bid team is still talking to 32 potential host venues. That will narrow down to 20 come March, as per FIFA’s request, once the bid technical logistics are submitted.
The question is how far the technical capabilities will dictate the vote. There is no doubt the UNITED bid sees them as central, even essential, to the final decision – which really questions whether Morocco will be able to meet them for an expanded 48-team World Cup. If they don’t meet the criteria they won’t make it the full membership vote and the UNITED bid should theoretically be home and hosed.
Gulati said, somewhat tongue in cheek: “I hope the technical analysis is very taxing and very precise.”
To his credit Gulati was not prepared to pick apart the Morocco bid, which has been a slow starter. “We are not comparing our bid side by side (with Morocco), others will do that. But what we can guarantee is an extraordinary bid that will give FIFA a legacy,” he said.
If awarded to UNITED 2026 this would be the first World Cup to be hosted in three countries. The US would host 60 of the 80 matches, while Canada and Mexico would host 10 matches each. All matches from the quarterfinals onwards would be played in the US.
But having gone from being the runaway favourite, the voting – if Morocco clears all the fences to get that far – will now certainly be closer.
Montagliani said: “We’re not taking anything for granted. Every vote, every member, is important and we’ll be working hard to ensure our bid is as it needs to be. We have certain milestones, such as March 16 when we put in the actual document, and those are what we are focused on with the endgame being on June 13 in Moscow.”
Trump will not be in power in 2026 but he will still on the throne on June 13 when the vote is taken. All manner of s**t could have been thrown by then. The three amigos will be hoping not too much of it sticks to their bid.
Disgraced former CONCACAF president Jeff Webb said on a number of occasions in public forums that on the principle of rotation, 2022 should have been in his region – the bid the US lost. He was right, it really is the turn of CONCACAF to have the event and 2026 looked a no-brainer in terms of that decision. But fate is fickle. Webb is now under house arrest awaiting sentencing in the FIFAGate scandal and agent Trump has turned a slam dunk for his country into a potentially tricky negotiation. Even so, it is a negotiation they should still be able to win.
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