Toronto will find out if it has been chosen as a 2026 FIFA World Cup host soon. Here's when it happens
Toronto will find out next month whether it has been chosen as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The expanded 48-team tournament has already been awarded jointly to Canada, the United States and Mexico but FIFA has not yet revealed its list of host cities for the event.
Currently 22 candidate cities, including Toronto and Edmonton, are vying for the right to host games.
In a news release issued early Friday morning, FIFA confirmed that it will be making an announcement on June 16 about which 16 cities will be formally selected as hosts.
The announcement comes months after a November visit from a FIFA delegation to evaluate Toronto as a potential host site.
“In line with the previous stages of the FIFA World Cup 2026 selection process, any announcement will be made in the best interests of football, taking into consideration the needs of all stakeholders involved, as we aim to lay the foundations for the tournament to be delivered successfully across all three countries,” FIFA Vice-President and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani said in the release. “We can only reiterate our appreciation to all the cities and the three member associations for their efforts and dedication to this process.”
A staff report that was approved by city council in April pegs the total cost of hosting World Cup games in Toronto at $290 million, with the provincial and federal governments picking up approximately two-thirds of the tab.
Some of the bigger line items include $63.7 million in capital work to prepare BMO Field to host games and $41.2 million to build training facilities for visiting teams.
Staff have estimated that the event would generate $307 million dollars of GDP impact and bring 174,000 overnight visitors to the city.
“It will put Toronto on the map,” Mayor John Tory told reporters in April. “This is the biggest sporting event in the world and I think for us to be a part of it I think the vast majority of the people of Toronto will be excited about that and they will see the business sense in it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.