Phoenix not among cities bidding on 2026 FIFA World Cup
Mar 18, 2018, 4:10 AM
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — Those hoping for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to land at University of Phoenix Stadium are going to have to go elsewhere to catch the action.
According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Phoenix is not among the 23 cities announced Thursday for the North American World Cup bid.
“After much deliberation, representatives of Phoenix, Glendale and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority elected to remove Phoenix from consideration as 2026 FIFA World Cup host city,” president and CEO of the Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority, which owns University of Phoenix Stadium and leads on bids for big events, Tom Sadler told the Journal.
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup is more than eight years away. We believe that committing ourselves to a World Cup bid that far in advance would be irresponsible as FIFA was not able to provide specific details on major unknowns that could result in a major financial burden to our cities,”
In September of 2017, U.S. Soccer said the Glendale stadium was one of 41 cities in either Canada, Mexico or the United States that expressed interest in welcoming at least one World Cup game. The 2026 tournament will be played in all three countries.
Though it is the home of the Arizona Cardinals, the stadium has hosted a slew of soccer games over the years, including a doubleheader quarterfinal for the Gold Cup in July of 2017.
The facility was home to three Copa America matches, including the third-place game between the U.S. and Colombia in 2016. Various other international friendlies and tournaments have been played in the stadium.
Some games have drawn more than 60,000 fans.
It has also hosted several Super Bowls and was the site of the NCAA Final Four tournament in 2017.
“This decision should not be interpreted as a lack of confidence that the Valley could not execute the event or a lack of interest in soccer,” Sadler said. “The Valley has a long history of successfully hosting international tournaments, including Copa America and CONCACAF Gold Cup, and we will continue to vigorously approve those and other soccer competitions.”
Other cities not bidding on the world Cup are Chicago, Minneapolis and Vancouver, while cities like Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City and Montreal are still in the mix.
