Looks like the WC Final for 2026 will be at the MetLife stadium.
Would have thought CA for sure.
CA is apparently too many time zones away.
And field was disrespectfully built too small for soccer.
We are getting the inevitable pushback on the soaring costs for Vancouver and Toronto to host the 2026 matches: similar costs for US cities?
I get the reaction as it is a questionable way to spend a billion dollars. I felt the same way about the Vancouver Winter Olympics but, dammit, it was fun! I would rather see the billion dollars spent this way then the billions of tax dollars that are being spent to bribe the car industry to invest in Canada while creating minimal numbers of new jobs.
The IOC is already getting some pushback from smarter, non-autocratic, secure-in-their-world-status countries that won’t host because of the added costs.
Wondering what the costs are to justify the higher budget, besides new lining for their pockets?
The opinion piece doesn’t say (though I agree in general that billionaires (Jazz/Name-Pending owner) and giant international organizations (IOC, FIFA) should not benefit from a tax grift, er, gift). The links inside the opinion piece cost money, and I’m out of Loonies.
Hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics has done wonders for the British economy.
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Bump, for Azteca Stadium issue" Luxury Box owners aren’t going to give up their Luxury Boxes for the 2026 World Cup.
OK, FIFA could simply move those matches somewhere else. But they will probably muscle their way around.
It seems like security is the big cost here.
When you think about it, it is financially pretty dumb to host the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics.
Atlanta took crap from the IOC for commercializing the games, but it worked as there was minimal public spending beyond improving existing infrastructure. The IOC put their foot down and required public spending in subsequent Olympics, which often added crippling debt burdens. Sounds like LA may once again be an Olympics done on a reasonable budget.
For the US and Western Europe, I think hosting a WC is a great deal as it doesn’t require a huge amount of new infrastructure. For most countries it’s a huge waste of money.
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There was not a huge infrastructure cost for the Vancouver winter games nor will there be for the FIFA World Cup. The biggest cost by far is security and I would think the US venues would have that cost as well?
Yes, security is the big expense for the US this time. That’s expensive, but still relatively low compared to countries required to build infrastructure.
And there are also different types of games infrastructure.
Vancouver did not need to build any massive new structures for the Winter Games. Any new buildings had modest costs and were repurposed afterwards for ongoing community use. The big infrastructure costs were a much needed rail link from the airport neighbourhoods to downtown and improvements to the road to Whistler from Vancouver. Both should have happened with or without the Games. They just got done quicker because of the Games.
The countries that leave me shaking my head are countries like Qatar that spend billions on new stadiums that end up being used only for the World Cup! What a waste.
That one was pure waste.
Even for soccer mad countries like Brazil it included tremendous waste. Multiple stadiums were built solely for world cup and are not in use for soccer. Others required significant modifications to meet FIFA demands for capacity.
I don’t mind that Qatar wasted money (they have plenty). But I do mind that they used migrant labor as slaves.
Brazil should never have bid for WC or Olympics.
Bump. For Knockout Round locations.
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Brad Marsch is now targeting a dozen or so young international players with dual citizenship to play for Canada rather than the country of their other nationality. I like this initiative as it has worked in the past to get good players like Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Stephen Eustaquio, etc.
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Thanks.
Canada has to win its group for its Round of 32 and a possible Round of 16 match to be played in Vancouver. More likely Canada will finish second which would send it to LA for its Round of 32 game. In any event, I will pay what is necessary to see their two Group matches in Vancouver. May go to LA as tickets will probably be available.
May try to catch some Seattle matches depending on who is playing there. My English SIL will be staying with us during WC 2026 so will also monitor where England is playing although that will be a tough ticket to get.
Funny story about dual internationals. Josip Simunic grew up in Australia with Croatian heritage and ended up playing for Croatia. During the Australia Croatia match at the 2006 World Cup, he managed to get 3 yellow cards because the referee heard his Australian accent and mistakenly wrote in Australia #3 for one of the cards instead of Croatia #3 (he did get a red card on the third one).
Not sure how many players have received 3 yellow cards in a single World Cup match!
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It is pretty much the ONLY way to improve a team from a country that does not embrace soccer as much as other countries do.
For a while, other countries were poaching US women. CAN will be poaching players that are likely not going to make their other choices of countries. Worldwide, they don’t get better than the best countries, but they might get better than the other CONCACAF countries. If that is the goal, then it is a good strategy. USMNT has been doing that for years, and the result is they got better than MEX.
The key is to poach players that would likely make their other country choice, i.e., MUCH better players, as USMNT has done with some potential MEX players.
Thinking about this some more, I have been looking for an excuse to take the Coast Starlight train down to LA again. Dollar for dollar you can’t beat that train experience if you book berths.
Do note that there is only one train all the way through. (Checking 7/31). There are eight other options, some of which force you off the train and onto a bus, then off the bus and onto a train, then off the train and onto a bus, through the San Joaquin Valley and not via the coast. Somehow a faster trip.
And I recommend a stop in Paso Robles or SLO or Santa Barbara for a bit of wine tasting. Should be better than Kelowna, but I’m biased.