Houston On The List To Host World Cup In 2026

HOUSTON TX — Houston is one of 44 cities being considered as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Officials with the The United Bid Committee of Canada, Mexico and the United States announced that they’d begun outreach efforts to potential host cities worldwide, and sent Requests for Information or RFIs to 44 cities across the three nations.

“Houston is ready for the World Cup, just like we were ready last year to host what turned out to be the best Super Bowl ever, on the field and throughout the host city,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “We’re an international soccer city because we are a city where one of every four residents is foreign born, almost all of them from countries that revere soccer and breed the most excited soccer fans on earth as well as some of the best players.”

After cities declare their interest, the United Bid Committee will review the submissions and intends to issue a shortlist of cities by late September. (Want to get daily updates about traffic news and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

The Bid Committee will then provide more detailed bid documentation to the cities and conduct meetings to discuss any questions as candidate cities prepare their final bids, due early January 2018.

“We are thrilled to be working with Harris County, the City of Houston, NRG Stadium and the Houston Dynamo to bring the World Cup back to the United States for the first time since 1994 and to Houston for the first time in history,” said Harris County - Houston Sports Authority CEO, Janis Burke. “Houston is the nation’s most diverse city and is known for its hospitality and, if selected, we would be honored to host the countries of the world for this international event.”

The Bid Committee plans to include 20-25 venues in its final bid to FIFA.

If selected to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, subject to FIFA’s determination, it is anticipated that at least 12 stadiums could host matches.

“Harris County is home to several world-class sports facilities, and I am confident that NRG Stadium will be the perfect venue for an event of this magnitude,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett.

Each stadium is required to have at least 40,000 seats for group stage matches and a capacity of at least 80,000 seats to be considered for the Opening Match and the Final.

• Atlanta, GA: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Baltimore, MD: M&T Bank Stadium
• Birmingham, AL: Legion Field
• Charlotte, NC: Bank of America Stadium
• Chicago, IL: Soldier Field
• Cincinnati, OH: Paul Brown Stadium
• Cleveland, OH: FirstEnergy Stadium
• Dallas, TX: Cotton Bowl Stadium
• Dallas, TX (Arlington) AT&T Stadium
• Denver, CO: Sports Authority Field
• Detroit, MI: Ford Field
• Green Bay, WI: Lambeau Field
• Houston, TX: NRG Stadium

In addition to a stadium capable of hosting international soccer, each city must propose international-level training sites and locations for team base camps, and hotels for teams, staff and VIP’s. The Bid Committee will also evaluate cities on their commitment to sustainable event management, human rights, environmental protection, aspirations to develop soccer and the positive social impact they anticipate in the local community and beyond stemming from the event.

Image: Shutterstock

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