It has been almost five years since the United States, Canada and Mexico rejected the request from Morocco hosting guests 2026 Men’s World Cup. Now the competition has become intramural.
The stadiums for the tournament have been chosen, but the world governing body FIFA has not yet announced which venue will host the final.
Officials from New York City and New Jersey are beginning to push for a final bid at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, including an event in Times Square Thursday morning with Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Mayor Eric Adams of New York.
“Eric and I believe very strongly that we have an opportunity to get a very good package, including the final one,” Murphy said during a meeting with Adams on Wednesday morning.
In most other World Cup matches, there is an obvious choice for the final match. Moscow, Rio de Janeiro and Paris are always selected when their countries will participate in the competition. But there are several favorites to reach the 2026 final, which will be played on July 19. (Although Mexico and Canada will have another 104 matches in the tournament, promoters have admitted that most of the matches – and everything from the quarterfinals onward – will be in the United States.)
The only time the United States participated in the World Cup, in 1994, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., they reached the final. This time, SoFi Stadium is the venue for Los Angeles list of stadiums for 2026. But the stadium was built specifically for NFL football games, and there are concerns that the existing stadium is too narrow to accommodate football, which would require removing seats and reducing capacity.
Dallas also emerged as a front-runner, in part because nearby AT&T Stadium could be expanded to provide more than 100,000 football seats.
But Adams and Murphy make their case that the New York City area surpasses this area as the best place to play.
“Yes, L.A. is known for its rough and tumble Hollywood appeal,” Adams said. “But I think New York is the biggest part.”
“New York is the capital of the world,” says Murphy. Without disrespecting Dallas, we’re taking it new York.”
The other contenders are not sleeping. “We’re making our case to the committee right now that we’re going to be the best place to practice and finish,” said Dan Hunt, president of Dallas’s, he told the local NBC affiliate at the end of last year. “We have two major airports, we have infrastructure, we have hotels, we have AT&T Stadium. We have what it takes to have what I call a ‘Super Bowl on steroids.’
Kathryn Schloessman, Los Angeles bid chief, said, “Our region is fortunate to have a world-class stadium and infrastructure that is expected to host the finals and other prestigious games.”
The decision will be made by FIFA officials, up to President Gianni Infantino, with input from the governing body, Concacaf, and US Soccer. It is expected in early autumn.
Whether or not New York State makes the finals, there will likely be eight games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. “Eight games is like eight Super Bowls in six weeks, so it doesn’t matter what the game looks like. why? be the best,” said Murphy. “We’ll sell every one of them; it doesn’t matter who’s playing.”
“But clearly to get to the final – and we think we’re in a very good position to get to the final – is a cakewalk that can’t be compared to a game,” he added. “There is popularity and I’m sure it will boost the regional economy.”
If the “big win” is coming any way, why is there such a hunger to reach the finish line? Adams also admitted another motivation: “I’m very competitive, and I want to beat other cities to make it to the finals.” We were chosen, now it’s time to bring the Cup home. “