The city of Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium are among 44 cities and 49 venues the United Bid Committee of the United States, Canada and Mexico has reached out to to determine interest in serving as an official host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The bid committee will require city leaders to provide information about each city’s transportation systems, experience hosting major sporting and other events, accommodations and environmental protection initiatives as well as each city’s commitment to creating sustainable events, developing soccer within the city and ability to create a positive social impact by being a host city.
Atlanta also was one of the potential host cities for the 2022 World Cup which was awarded to Qatar. Atlanta’s 2022 World Cup bid emphasized the importance of the city because CNN, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and numerous Fortune 500 companies are located in the city.
Atlanta and any other cities interested in serving as a host city must declare interest to take part in bid process by Sept. 5.
"The City of Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz Stadium are proud to be part of the bid process for the 2026 World Cup," Atlanta United President Darren Eales said in a statement. "Atlanta is a thriving international city with a passionate soccer community, and with a world-class venue like Mercedes-Benz Stadium, we feel we have a tremendous amount to offer as a host city for this prestigious global tournament."
The United States led bid to host the 2026 World Cup will be challenged by Morocco, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced Friday.
Included on the list of potential host cities and venues are 34 U.S. cities and 37 stadiums. Canada has seven cities and nine stadiums and Mexico has three cities and three stadiums on the list of potential hosts.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of three stadiums being considered for the 2026 World Cup that hosts both an MLS and an NFL team. The other stadiums are CenturyLink Field in Seattle and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Even before the founding of Atlanta United in 2014, the city of Atlanta hosted soccer events such as the 2015 Gold Cup held at Georgia Dome.
In the inaugural season, Atlanta United currently leads MLS in average attendance, at more than 46,000 fans per game.
Another advantage for Mercedes-Benz Stadium that Atlanta didn't have for the 2022 bid is the presence of Atlanta United technical director Carlos Bocanegra on the Unified Bid Committee. Bocanegra was named to the committee Aug. 4.
“The host cities included in our bid will be critical to its success - not only because of their facilities and ability to stage major events, but because they are committed to further developing the sport of soccer by harnessing the impact of hosting a FIFA World Cup - and looking beyond the game itself to make a positive contribution to our communities and the world,” bid committee executive director John Kristick said in a statement. “We have had a great response so far and we're looking forward to working closely with each city and determining the best venues for our official bid that we’ll submit next year.”
The bid committee's final bid will include 20-25 venues that will be submitted to FIFA.
After the committee reviews submissions and creates a short list by late September, the committee will provide detailed documentation regarding bids to the potential host cities before the final bids are submitted in January 2018.
Candidate venues and cities must submit an official bid to FIFA by March 16.
If a city is not selected by FIFA as a host city, there are still events and activities the venue and city could host during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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