USA, Canada and Mexico beat Morocco in vote to host 2026 World Cup

Publish | 13 Jun 2018, 17:38

Online Desk

The joint North American bid has beaten Morocco in the race to host the 2026 World Cup following Tuesday’s vote at the Fifa Congress in Moscow.

The United States, Canada and Mexico’s combined bid was heavy favourite to host the 48-team tournament in eight years’ time and they received 134 of the 200 votes cast compared to 65 for the north African country. Morocco 65 Joint bid 134 votes

Some of those close to the united bid were concerned that interventions by Donald Trump during the campaign period may have worked against them. In April, he tweeted: “The US has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the US bid. Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?”

There were suggestions that his antagonistic manner could alienate some nations and also that the recent public dispute with Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, could undermine the collaboration between two of the hosting nations.

However, it emerged that behind the scenes Trump has been lobbying on behalf of the bid. He sent three letters to Infantino and other Fifa officials offering reassurances should the united bid win. Trump pledged that his hardline stance on visas would not affect visitors to the country during the tournament. The letters, seen by the New York Times, also cited the 1996 and 2002 Olympic Games and the 1994 World Cup as examples of major international events hosted by the US.

Source: The Guardian