Two MLS markets have pulled out of hosting duties for the 2026 World Cup bid.
Chicago and Vancouver have removed themselves from consideration for hosting the 2026 tournament, which features competing bids from the U.S., Mexico and Canada against Morocco. The two were on the list of 32 potential venues to host matches.
“FIFA could not provide a basic level of certainty on some major unknowns that put our city and taxpayers at risk,” the Chicago mayor’s office said in a statement Wednesday. “The uncertainty for taxpayers, coupled with FIFA’s inflexibility and unwillingness to negotiate, were clear indications that further pursuit of the bid wasn’t in Chicago’s best interests.”
“While we support the prospect of hosting the World Cup, we cannot agree to terms that would put British Columbians at risk of shouldering potentially huge and unpredictable costs,” Lisa Beare, BC’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, added in a statement.
FIFA is set to decide on which bid wins hosting duties this June.
Pulling out is not an effective method of bid control
FIFA’s ongoing requests for immunity from liability and special privileges for World cup guests puts the US at a bit of a disadvantage as the US, on both a federal and state level, wont grant the immunities FIFA wants. for instance, FIFA demanded that any income being paid to FIFA from the world cup would be immune from taxation. There is no way that will work here. Blatter was upset at his Ex Co because they took bribes individually and over played their hand at the last selection when FIFA would still make more money on a US World Cup when the followed the rules.
It would be interesting if enough North American cities reach the same decision to see how FIFA would react with the prospect of only having Morocco as a potential host. Maybe that’s what they wanted all along, but I still think that FIFA still wants US-Mexico-Canada to host: top notch infrastructure and total cash cow.