Question Period Note: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announces host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

In June 2018, FIFA awarded 2026 FIFA World Cup to Canada, the United States and Mexico (United 2026). Since then, Sport Canada has been working with the Canadian Soccer Association, the Candidate Cities and their respective provinces and many federal departments and agencies, as the Canadian Soccer Association continues to develop plans and budgets for the event.
On June 16, 2022, FIFA announced the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Of the 23 Candidate cities across North America, 16 were selected to host. Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto were the three Canadian cities under consideration, however only Vancouver and Toronto were selected by FIFA to host. It is expected that matches will not be awarded until 2025.

• On June 16, Vancouver and Toronto were selected to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. We are excited to have been chosen as a host country alongside Mexico and the United States.
• Our investment in the Canadian Soccer Association and ongoing work with Canada’s host cities will inform future funding decisions and support.
• We’d like to recognize the enormous efforts of Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto in this candidacy city process. You have made our country proud.

• In April 2017, the soccer governing bodies for Canada, the United States and Mexico announced their joint bid (United 2026) for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• In March 2018, the Government of Canada announced its support for the bid, which included Government of Canada (GoC) assurances (letters) from the Prime Minister and multiple federal ministers to respond to the FIFA-requested government guarantees.
• In June 2018, FIFA awarded the 2026 FIFA World Cup to United 2026. Subsequently, the GoC confirmed funding of up to $4.33 million to the Canadian Soccer Association to coordinate the work of Canadian governments and develop a National Hosting Concept to inform future decisions on funding and support for the event.
• The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be organized by FIFA, in conjunction with the Canadian Soccer Association, the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación, and the United States Soccer Federation.
• The event is scheduled to take place from June to July 2026 (TBC) and will attract approximately 1,100 Canadian and international athletes from 48 countries.
• It is anticipated that of the 80 matches, Canada and Mexico will each host 10, and the United States will host 60.
• In February 2021, the Government of Quebec withdrew its support for Montréal’s candidacy for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and on July 6, 2021, the City of Montréal announced the withdrawal of its candidacy.
• In July 2021, the Premier of British Columbia indicated publicly that he was prepared to entertain the possibility of Vancouver hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. Vancouver, however, is not currently confirmed as a Candidate City and it is unclear if it will pursue the opportunity to host matches.
• FIFA announced the official host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 16, 2022.
• There were 23 candidate host cities: Canada (Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto), United States (Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay area, Seattle and Washington, District of Columbia) Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey) under consideration by FIFA.
• Only 16 cities were selected to move forward: Canada (Vancouver, Toronto), United States (Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York/New Jersey), Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara).
• BC Place (Vancouver, British Columbia) and the Bank of Montreal Field (Toronto, Ontario) have been selected as the Canadian stadiums to host matches.
• In July 2021, the Canadian Soccer Association submitted a national hosting concept to all orders of government. The national hosting concept includes details such as a preliminary budget estimate, planned venues, team base camps, FIFA FanFests and other events across Canada. Now that host cities have been selected, a revised version of the National Hosting Concept is expected later this summer.
• The final tournament schedule (and where each country will be playing) will not be known until the official draw in 2025.
• As per the Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events, the GoC will limit its contribution to a maximum of 35 percent of total event costs and will not exceed 50 percent of the total contribution of all orders of government to the event.

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