2026 FIFA World Cup Invites Detroit, 44 Cities To Bid

DETROIT, MI — Detroit is on the list of 44 cities under consideration to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 65,000-seat Ford Field would host the 2026 tournament, the first to be held under an expanded 48-team format that would require world-class facilities and infrastructure.

Ford Field is one of the smaller stadiums on the list. The largest is 105,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The smallest is Canada’s Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec, which has a capacity for 20,801 guests.

About 12 locations are expected to serve as official host city. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Detroit Patch, and click here to find your local Michigan Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

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The 49 stadiums represent a wide spectrum of facilities, including stadiums for soccer and football as well as domed and retractable roof stadiums, the FIFA said in a news release. All stadiums are required to have at least 40,000 seats for group stage matches, and a capacity of at least 80,000 to be considered for the opening match and the final.

After cities declare their interest — which they have until Sept. 5 to do — the United Bid Committee of the United States, Mexico and Canada will review requests, issue a short list of candidates by the end of September, and then make a decision by March 16, 2018.

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