Vancouver won’t be a part of Canada’s attempt to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet has learned.
Sportsnet 650 commentator Perry Solkowski reports that the United 2026 committee has sent a letter to the city and the province of B.C. informing them that Vancouver has missed the deadline to be involved in the joint bid set to be tabled by Canada, the United States and Mexico. The same letter said that Toronto, Montreal, and Edmonton will be among the Canadian cities under consideration as potential hosts for the 2026 World Cup.
The formal bid book must be submitted to FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, by this Friday. FIFA member nations will then vote on June 13 to see which of the two candidates – Morocco vs. the joint bid involving Canada — will host the tournament.
This development comes after the B.C. provincial government raised concerns about cost, and after its requests for clarification were rejected by the committee.
“While we support the prospect of hosting the World Cup, we cannot agree to terms that would put British Columbians at risk of shouldering potentially huge and unpredictable costs,” Lisa Beare, BC’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, B.C. Premier John Horgan told reporters that while he would like to see the World Cup come to Vancouver, he was not about to write “a blank cheque” to FIFA.
The province owns BC Place Stadium, the venue that would’ve hosted World Cup games in Vancouver. The provincial government would have to cover a portion of the cost for things such as security, parking, and modifications to the artificial playing surface should the united bid beat out Morocco.
Sportsnet 650’s Perry Solkowski and Dan Riccio break the news that B.C. will not join the united bid of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to co-host the 2026 World Cup:
Soccer analyst and former Canadian national team player Mark Rogers joins Perry Solkowski and Dan Riccio on Sportsnet 650 to assess the B.C. government’s decision to back out of the united bid to host the 2026 World Cup:
Former Canadian national team player David Norman joins Perry Solkowski and Dan Riccio to discuss his heartbreak over the fact Vancouver will not host any 2026 World Cup games:
[relatedlinks]
