FIFA World Cup 2026: Big Reveal of Host Cities Is Coming Soon

29.01.2024 - 01:01 / skift.com / Dawit Habtemariam / Fred Dixon / Monica Paul

The future of tourism to New York, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Mexico City and a dozen other cities is going to change next week. On February 4, FIFA is going to announce the schedule of which city gets which World Cup games in 2026 — and the millions in visitor spending that comes with it.

The games will take place in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.

The 16 host cities are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

FIFA has also upped the number of matches to a historic 104 and has raised the number of qualifying teams from 32 to 48.

Before the big schedule reveal, here are four things to keep in mind about the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The FIFA World Cup will generate more $5 billion in short-term economic activity, including around 40,000 jobs and more $1 billion in worker earnings across North America, according to a study by The Boston Consulting Group and United Bid Committee. The latter led the successful joint bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

Host cities will see between $160 and $620 million each in economic activity, forecasters said. After considering likely public costs, each city could see a net benefit between $90 and $480 million in gains.

“This is going to be the equivalent of hosting six or seven or eight Super Bowls within a probably six-week period,” said Fred Dixon, CEO and president of NYC Tourism + Conventions, in July. 

The final match not only brings bragging rights and a large amount of visitor spending to a city but it also gives a destination unprecedented global media coverage. Around 1.5 billion people watched the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final in Qatar.

“You may not catch every match along the way but the finals are kind of the Holy Grail,” Jennifer Stoll, principal of Stoll Strategies, which consults on sports tourism. “No different than the Super Bowl — just on a magnified scale.”

Only three cities have stadiums big enough to host the final match: New York and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, AT&T Stadium in Arlington (near Dallas), and Los Angeles’ SoFi.

The FIFA World Cup game schedule determines sponsorship value, security preparations, transportation, and how much revenue host cities will get, as visitation will vary.

Cities are planning safety, security, transportation, and new construction to facilitate 35 to 40 days straight of World Cup festivities.

All cities must do a test event for the games before the game, said Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission, at a panel at the Destinations International Annual Convention.

It will also influence where the 48 teams choose their base camps, which could be in