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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.