Montreal is no longer a Candidate Host City for the FIFA 2026 World Cup™. The city from Canada has withdrawn from the selection process. The city of Montreal, through Canada Soccer, officially notified the World Football Association on July 6, 2021. The reason for the withdrawal of the candidacy is a lack of funding. This had been an uncertain factor for some time after costs exceeded (roughly) $50 million to $103 million. The province of Quebec can no longer account for sufficient financial support to the taxpayer, their government has indicated. Montreal has been a candidate host since 2018.
The FIFA World Cup in June and July 2026 will take place in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Toronto and Edmonton are the two remaining Canadian host cities for the World Cup in North America. In addition, Mexico still has three Candidate Host Cities: Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. From the United States, the following cities are still candidates: Atlanta, Baltimore, 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.
The selection process for the final host cities is still in progress. After virtual sessions – due to the current pandemic – physical FIFA visits to the potential host cities are scheduled again in the autumn of 2021: from September to November. The World Football Association wants to decide on the allocation by the end of the second quarter of 2022 at the latest. In total, there will be sixteen hosts at the time of the global finals in 2026: possibly two in Canada, three in Mexico and eleven in the United States.
2026 World Cup cities
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has a record number of 48 participating countries. They play a total of 80 matches. The qualifiers in the six FIFA continents CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC, UEFA and OFC will start in 2023. The draw for the 2026 qualifiers is likely to be in July of that year. The qualifying series of the 23rd FIFA World Cup ends in 2025. Montreal will not be part of the final round, unlike many of the other 2026 World Cup candidate cities. Click for the characteristics of these football cities, awaiting the final allocation decision.
