By Paul Nicholson
December 22 – Talk of a biennial World Cup has overshadowed some of the crucial decision making to be made around the 2026 World Cup, and event that in itself will be groundbreaking, both for FIFA and football.
November 18 – With Canada have pushed themselves into the top qualifying slot for the 2002 World Cup in Edmonton, it was the city’s turn to stake its claim to be a host venue for 2026.
By Paul Nicholson
November 16 – This week FIFA’s inspectors resume their whistle-stop tour of cities bidding to be host venues for the 2026 World Cup, starting in Edmonton, Canada. It is a hugely important moment for this football city, but before they roll out the red carpet for the FIFA team, they have a more pressing football engagement.
November 11 – The general secretary of the Canadian FA, Peter Montopoli, is leaving to become chief operating officer of his country’s co-hosting of the 2026 World Cup with the USA and Mexico.
By Paul Nicholson
October 19 – Football in Canada is crossing a threshold. With a Gold medal at the Olympics for the women’s team and the men’s team showing they are real contenders for a 2022 World Cup slot, there is a positivity you can almost touch coming from the country that so often lives in the sporting shadow of the US, and, in football terms, Mexico.
October 19 – 2026 World Cup bid city Houston has launched plans for a Soccer Innovation Institute as part of its Spirit of Houston campaign and legacy programme.
October 14 – Next week, FIFA scrutineers will return to conduct World Cup 2026 bid city inspections, visiting all of Kansas City, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Monterrey, San Francisco and Seattle.
October 7 – World Cup 2026 bid city Houston kept their focus on the hosting prize with the launch the ‘Spirit of Houston’ campaign yesterday marking the start of the campaign with a social ‘roadblock’ that saw organisations and indivduals share the campaign launch video.
September 24 – FIFA has completed its first round of visits to 2026 World Cup host city candidates, with inspections of Boston, Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Miami.
September 24 – 2026 World Cup host bidder Houston has announced a $6 million campaign to support Houston 2026’s Grow the Game initiative which aims at providing underserved communities access to football. The initiative launches as FIFA’s host city bid inspections gather pace in the US.
September 10 – The host city selection process for the 2026 World Cup moves on a stage next week with FIFA beginning its inspection visits September 15-23.
July 18 – Baltimore-Maryland’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Host City bid has been given a boost in local authority support with the State of Maryland’s Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford and Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott being appointed in co-chair roles.
July 7 – Montreal has withdrawn its bid to be a host city of the 2026 World Cup, leaving Edmonton and Toronto as the only two Canadian applicants.
June 26 – Houston’s bid to be one of the US cities selected to host the 2026 World Cup was given a boost last week after it was named in the top 10 ‘Americas Cities of the Future’.
June 11 –Houston, which is preparing to host Concacaf Gold Cup matches next month, is looking further ahead with its bid to be one of the final 10 host cities in the US for the 2026 World Cup.