D.C., Baltimore Lose Host Bid For 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup Matches

WASHINGTON, DC — World Cup matches are not coming to the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore region in 2026. The cities combined for a joint bid, but FIFA chose not to include the region as part of the final host cities.

On Thursday, FIFA officials announced that the combined bid of the two metros was not selected as a host city for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held at venues across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The D.C. and Baltimore region's bid would have included matches at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

FIFA announced the host cities for the event in a televised event on Thursday. The full list of host cities includes Vancouver, Canada; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; Los Angeles, California; Guadalajara, Mexico; Kansas City, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; Monterrey, Mexico; Mexico City, Mexico; Toronto, Canada; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami, Florida; New York, and the New York and New Jersey area..

"In line with the previous stages of the FIFA World Cup 2026 selection process, any announcement will be made in the best interests of football, taking into consideration the needs of all stakeholders involved, as we aim to lay the foundations for the tournament to be delivered successfully across all three countries," said FIFA Vice-President and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani. "We can only reiterate our appreciation to all the cities and the three member associations for their efforts and dedication to this process."

In the official "bid book" for the 2026 World Cup, cities presented their vision statements for hosting matches.

See also: Baltimore On World Cup Tour List For FIFA Delegation

"Baltimore will continue to lead the way in welcoming the world to America and uniting citizens, cultures, commerce, medicine, education, the environment, religion, and sport to create a better future for people everywhere," city officials wrote for their vision statement.

In their vision statement, D.C. officials said "Our vision is cultural diplomacy, uniting residents and visitors through sport."

See also: FIFA Officials To Check Out DC As Potential World Cup Host City

FIFA officials toured sites in D.C. and Maryland in the fall of 2021. The delegation visited stadiums in addition to landmarks like the National Mall.

“During the past months we have had open exchanges with the candidate host cities on a number of different topics. ” said FIFA’s Chief Tournaments & Events Officer, Colin Smith. “The host cities will be absolutely key to ensuring the successful delivery of the competition.”

The 2026 World Cup will mark the first time the tournament will host 48 teams from around the world. It will mark the first time the United States has hosted the event since 1994 World Cup.

More information about the 2026 World Cup venues is available on FIFA's website.