By Paul Nicholson
May 14 – With FIFA’s World Cup 2026 venue inspection team in full flow in terms of briefing, meeting and assessing potential city hosts, Baltimore on the East coast is one of 17 city hopefuls jostling for a final 10 host slot.
It is an interesting proposition from a city that was part of the failed US bid for 2018 and 2022 World Cups but whose bid leader Terry Hasseltine makes a credible and passionate case for a city still eager to be unleashed in the football world to show what it can do.
And with the city’s infrastructure, communications network and an upgraded 72,000-capacity M&T Bank Stadium, it is an enthusiasm he can back up.
“In terms of soccer we are a hidden gem on the East coast. We have hosted huge matches and we get major participation. We are always in the top five of TV viewing markets for World Cup viewers. You put soccer in our building and the tickets will fly,” said Hassaltine, whose as well as being presidentof Baltimore-Maryland 2026, is the executive director of the Maryland Sports Commission.
“We are in a kind of an open market where FIFA can make a significant impact with its footprint and leave a mark.”
A big part of the Hasseltine pitch is the ease and user-friendliness of Baltimore for hosting. “We have a footprint and logistics that are second to none. You would never need a car. We have a light rail straight into the city. Our fanfest would be easily accessible and buzzing, and really connecting the city with our visitors. We have great connectivity up and down the Eastern seaboard. International commerce runs right through the heart of the city,” he says.
If that isn’t enough, then “it is a great place to activate and it is a blank canvas to do something that can make a big impact.”
Baltimore is projected to be in the mix to host a World Cup Group stage as well as a last 16 play-off. Hosting football events is not new for the city. It hosted Concacaf Gold Cup matches in 2013 and 2015, including recording the highest attendances. But securing one of the 10 slots is by no means guaranteed and is not being taken for granted.
Hasseltine has a team working on the paperwork to make sure FIFA criteria is met in terms of core infrastructure. Training facilities are being showcased with the city’s university partners (facilities that would put most professional football clubs in Europe to shame), as well as the construction of four legacy building and facilities that would be activated if Baltimore won the hosting rights.
For Baltimore it is not just about putting on some football matches. “If you come to a city like Baltimore you will get the highest level exposure,” said Hasseltine. “Whether you are here for a base camp or because we are hosting matches you will get the flavour of a World Cup city, of something much bigger.”
While the attitude is infectious, the stadium infrastructure is impressive. The M&T Bank Stadium has recently completed an $144 million upgrade of everything from new control rooms, new escalators and elevators and state of the art executive suites and electronics, as well as connectivity for fans. The pitch itself is a grass field that for the World Cup would be raised to create a flatter surface.
The Baltimore-Maryland 2026 bid is also aware that this isn’t about just bringing World Cup games to the city but that there is a wider and inclusive social responsibility that comes with that privilege. Baltimore-Maryland’s bid have launched their own ‘International Football Development 2026’ (IFD26) initiative as part of its commitment to create strong local and international football legacies.
This involves partnering with regions across the world to offer support where sports development resources may be limited with their first partner being West-Africa’s Benin.
Baltimore-Maryland 2026 will collaborate and share knowledge, building on the Benin’s passion for football and developing its women’s and youth programmes to empower all areas of the game.
Hasseltine says that this is about “capability-building” and the creation of opportunity and enabling positive change.
Baltimore looks more than capable of delivering on 2026 hosting requirements. Hasseltine is promising to deliver a lot more. By December 21 he will know if FIFA will let him.
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