March 5 – Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying schedules may be in disarray around the world, but FIFA has already moved on to the next stage of host city selection for its expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup.
This year the world governing body will name the winning cities, with competition for hosting fiercest in the US with 17 contenders looking for one of 10 slots.
On Thursday it was the turn of the Baltimore-Maryland 2026 Bid Committee to showcase its plans to FIFA and US Soccer representatives in an virtual meeting.
Centrepiece of the Baltimore-Maryland bid is the M&T Bank Stadium, home to the Baltimore Ravens NFL team. Situated downtown, the 71,000 capacity stadium has recently had $140 million spent on stadium upgrades.
The Baltimore bid team promised a compact World Cup experience with the stadium 10 miles from the BWI Marshall International Airport and with more than 10,000 hotel rooms within walking distance. As well as football themed experiences during the World Cup, the bid outlined a lasting legacy infrastructure for football (soccer) once the World Cup road show leaves town.
Terry Hasseltine, President of Baltimore-Maryland 2026 and Executive Director of Maryland Sports Commission, said: “It was a very positive infrastructure workshop and we’re delighted with the way our campaign is progressing. We were thrilled to present our world-class M&T Bank Stadium and our transformative and compact hosting plans. We are also incredibly proud that our proposed concept offers an unbeatable tournament experience for visiting teams, fans and officials from across the world.
“As a new domestic market for the FIFA World Cup, Baltimore-Maryland is an opportunity for FIFA and U.S. Soccer to capture the attention of more fans and accelerate the overall development of football in the U.S. FIFA World Cup 2026 in Baltimore will provide a great social and economic boost, inspire a new generation of football lovers and create a tangible legacy for all.”
To get to that point Baltimore will have to knock out seven of their competitors from Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington DC.
In Mexico, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey have emerged as candidate cities and in Canada Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto are in the race.
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