B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, has been added as a proposed site in Canada to host matches at the 2026 World Cup along with Edmonton, Alberta, and Toronto.

FIFA made the announcement Thursday, nine months after Montreal dropped out when the Quebec provincial government withdrew its support.

Eighteen U.S. stadiums in 17 areas are bidding for the event, with the Los Angeles area submitting both SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, site of the 1994 World Cup final. Three cities in Mexico are bidding.

FIFA has targeted mid-May for announcing site selections.

FIFA also said Amy Hopfinger, the U.S. Soccer Federation's director of events, will become chief strategy and planning officer of FIFA's subsidiary in the U.S. for the 2026 World Cup. Hopfinger, 41, has worked at the USSF for 18 years.

Dan Flynn will become senior executive adviser of the subsidiary. The 67-year-old served as the USSF's chief executive officer from June 2000 until September 2019.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first with 48 nations and the first with three co-hosts. FIFA selected the bid as joint host in June 2018.

Sixty games are to be played in the U.S., including all from the quarterfinals on. Canada and Mexico are to host 10 games each.

The bid plan envisioned 16 total sites for the tournament.

The bid had been trimmed to 23 candidate areas in March 2018, including Montreal.

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by Associated Press

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