May 6 – The Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee, who are expected to learn whether they have secured one of the 10 US hosting slots in the coming weeks, have backed the City of Houston’s adoption of the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports.
April 22 – World Cup host city contenders Washington, DC and Baltimore have merged their bids to create a joint application to stage 2026 World Cup matches.
April 19 – Canadian and Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies is one of the hottest players in world football. Canada’s talisman from Edmonton has led his nation to their first World Cup finals since 1986. In 2026 he could be leading them out in his home town. Davies speaks exclusively to Insideworldfootball.
January 14 – With the Qatar 2022 World Cup to be hosted at the end of this year in a country with a questionable human rights track record, the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee have come up with their own community-driven Human Rights Report to support their own venue hosting credentials.
By Paul Nicholson
December 22 – Talk of a biennial World Cup has overshadowed some of the crucial decision making to be made around the 2026 World Cup, and event that in itself will be groundbreaking, both for FIFA and football.
November 18 – With Canada have pushed themselves into the top qualifying slot for the 2002 World Cup in Edmonton, it was the city’s turn to stake its claim to be a host venue for 2026.
By Paul Nicholson
November 16 – This week FIFA’s inspectors resume their whistle-stop tour of cities bidding to be host venues for the 2026 World Cup, starting in Edmonton, Canada. It is a hugely important moment for this football city, but before they roll out the red carpet for the FIFA team, they have a more pressing football engagement.
November 11 – The general secretary of the Canadian FA, Peter Montopoli, is leaving to become chief operating officer of his country’s co-hosting of the 2026 World Cup with the USA and Mexico.
By Paul Nicholson
October 19 – Football in Canada is crossing a threshold. With a Gold medal at the Olympics for the women’s team and the men’s team showing they are real contenders for a 2022 World Cup slot, there is a positivity you can almost touch coming from the country that so often lives in the sporting shadow of the US, and, in football terms, Mexico.
October 19 – 2026 World Cup bid city Houston has launched plans for a Soccer Innovation Institute as part of its Spirit of Houston campaign and legacy programme.
October 14 – Next week, FIFA scrutineers will return to conduct World Cup 2026 bid city inspections, visiting all of Kansas City, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Monterrey, San Francisco and Seattle.
October 7 – World Cup 2026 bid city Houston kept their focus on the hosting prize with the launch the ‘Spirit of Houston’ campaign yesterday marking the start of the campaign with a social ‘roadblock’ that saw organisations and indivduals share the campaign launch video.
September 24 – FIFA has completed its first round of visits to 2026 World Cup host city candidates, with inspections of Boston, Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Miami.
September 24 – 2026 World Cup host bidder Houston has announced a $6 million campaign to support Houston 2026’s Grow the Game initiative which aims at providing underserved communities access to football. The initiative launches as FIFA’s host city bid inspections gather pace in the US.
September 10 – The host city selection process for the 2026 World Cup moves on a stage next week with FIFA beginning its inspection visits September 15-23.