There was “no concept or dialogue” inside FIFA about including a bunch town for the 2026 Global Cup after expanding the dimensions of the event by means of an extra 24 video games, consistent with CONCACAF president and FIFA vice chairman Victor Montagliani.
Talking forward of Thursday’s CONCACAF International locations League semifinals, Montagliani cautioned that FIFA may by no means rule anything else out totally. He mentioned FIFA is recently finding out the affect of including video games to the waft of the agenda and figuring out the place the ones further video games shall be performed.
FIFA added video games to the event, the primary version of the lads’s Global Cup with 48 groups, previous this 12 months by means of nixing a plan to prepare groups in teams of 3, as an alternative doing so with teams of 4. In general, the event will contain 104 video games, up from a deliberate 80 below the three-team crew situation, and 64 within the earlier, 32-team model of the event.
Montagliani famous that he expects each Mexico and Canada, that have been each and every set to host 10 video games, to host extra video games within the event.
“I might assume simply by herbal reasoning you’re going to get extra video games in Canada, extra video games in Mexico,” Montagliani mentioned. “What number of? We don’t know. That’s all relying at the fit agenda.”
Montagliani additionally expects each Mexico and Canada to host knockout video games, he mentioned, however mentioned the fit agenda will resolve how deep into the knockout rounds the ones video games will fall.
Canada, he mentioned, will play all 3 of its crew video games at house in Canada.
GO DEEPER
Global Cup 2026 to have four-team teams and 104 suits
Montagliani additionally mentioned that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL hope to announce the host towns for the 2024 Copa The us q4 and can get started the method of deciding on venues in earnest after this summer season’s Gold Cup. The U.S. is ready to host the expanded model of South The us’s regional championship, with the addition of six groups from CONCACAF, who qualify by means of advancing out of the 2023-2024 International locations League quarterfinals in November.
Montagliani advised The Athletic the host town variety procedure shall be very similar to the process used for the Gold Cup. Montagliani mentioned they’ve now not narrowed a particular date all the way down to announce host towns q4, however they hope to make the choices referred to as temporarily as conceivable.
“We do that each and every two years, there’s a procedure in relation to now not simplest the stadiums themselves, but in addition the routing of video games is essential,” Montagliani mentioned. “That must be considered. The dimensions of the venues, what number of video games, what sort of groups are taking part in, are we going to make use of all NFL stadiums or are we going to do a combination like we do for Gold Cup? So that each one must be laid out first, from a basis, then we get into that procedure with the venues themselves. We’ve already had a ton of pastime, stadiums are patently , a large number of them are stadiums that we’ve utilized in a Gold Cup, in order that they’re acquainted with us, which provides CONMEBOL a prime convenience degree, clearly with us managing this procedure.”
Montagliani mentioned some overlap with 2026 Global Cup host towns must be anticipated and that FIFA would possibly use the ones alternatives as exams for the 2026 event. Montagliani famous that the ones markets are used to working giant occasions and so there isn’t as a lot fear for his or her readiness.
GO DEEPER
2024 Copa The us to be performed in U.S.
Montagliani additionally mentioned the prospective arrival of Lionel Messi to Primary League Football. Messi has introduced he’ll sign up for Inter Miami. Curiously, Inter Miami is recently within the U.S. Open Cup semifinals and would qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the federation’s best membership pageant, in the event that they win the Open Cup event.
Messi could also be anticipated to play for Argentina within the Copa The us subsequent 12 months.
“It’s simply a good time to be concerned within the sport in North The us and having the most productive participant on the planet come in your confederation is most definitely, I might say the icing at the cake, however I believe it’s the start of the cake, to be fair with you,” he mentioned. “I believe all eyes will flip to this continent for soccer between now and 2026, however I in reality assume the legacy shall be (that) all eyes shall be in this continent past ’26.”
(Photograph: Howard Smith / ISI Footage / Getty Pictures)
