MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – South Florida soccer fans and local leaders were very nervous Thursday as they waited to learn if Miami is picked as one of the host cities for the 2026 men’s World Cup.
At 5 p.m., FIFA announced the 16 host cities, and Miami was among them.
Recommended Videos
The 16 host cities are Miami, New York/New Jersey, Boston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the US, Toronto and Vancouver in Canada and Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City in Mexico.
The American cities in the running were: Miami, New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco/Bay Area, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Kansas City, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, and Cincinnati.
“During the past months we have had open exchanges with the candidate host cities on a number of different topics,” Colin Smith, FIFA’s Chief Tournaments & Events Officer, said in a statement last month. “We are very thankful and impressed by how dedicated and innovative they all are.”
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history with 80 games played overall. It will be the second time the U.S. has hosted the World Cup after the first in 1994.
Thursday’s announcement came just weeks after Miami starred on the world stage while successfully hosting the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium.
Hard Rock Stadium is no stranger to big events. Super Bowls, college football national title games and many important soccer games have been played on the Hard Rock turf.
Soccer fans won’t be the only ones to benefit from Miami being chosen as host city.
A recent study has found that cities which hold World Cup matches could see an estimated $160-$620 million in economic activity.