U.S. President Donald Trump has extended his congratulations to the United Bid from North America after it was chosen to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup. The bid comprises U.S.A, Mexico and Canada.
Trump tweeted: "The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations - a great deal of hard work!" The United Bid saw off competition from Morocco to win the vote at FIFA's annual congress at Moscow's Expocentre by votes of 134 to 65 votes.
The decision was announced one day before the World Cup 2018 opening game between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in the city.
The North American tournament will see games take place in up to 16 stadiums, the majority of which will be in the USA. All of the stadiums already exist, and will only require renovation ahead of the tournament.
The expanded format in 2026 will include 48 teams, playing a total of 80 matches. The US would host 60 of those games, while Canada and Mexico would hold 10 each.
The Moroccan bid offered a tournament spread across 14 stadiums in 12 cities, but would have involved an estimated $16 billion spend on stadiums and infrastructure.
In his acceptance speech, US Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro said: “Thank you so, so very much for this incredible honor,” AP reported.