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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has dropped the biggest hint yet as to where he believes the 2026 World Cup should take place. Following the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 edition to Qatar, the venue for the 2026 version of the competition is to be decided in 2020.
Originally, the process was due to be completed in May of 2017, but FIFA experienced some minor setbacks that you might’ve heard about.
With the African federation having hosted the 2010 tournament, South America in 2014, Europe in 2018 and Asia in 2022, the CONCACAF region is almost guaranteed to host the 2026 tournament.
Infantino is also adamant that the 2026 version of the tournament will expand from 32 teams to 40, something he’s been targeting for a while now.
Infantino confirmed as much according to FourFourTwo:
“There is, I would say, no limit to whatever is good for football. We will see, but it's true that CONCACAF did not have the World Cup for a long time. For the moment I think everything is open. My opinion on the 40 teams has not changed.
“We have seen it again at the Euros in France with eight more teams, what kind of enthusiasm this generated in many, many countries. We need to realise that these kinds of events are more than just a competition, they are real social events in the whole world.”
The United States, Mexico and Canada have all confirmed that they’d be interested in hosting the 2026 World Cup.
(H/T: FourFourTwo)
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