Vancouver to Host 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup Matches

Today FIFA confirmed that Vancouver has been chosen as an official host city for the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026. The Province will work with FIFA to confirm the number of matches that will be held in Vancouver.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico with matches held in select host cities across North America. This World Cup will be the largest ever held, and the first to feature 48 teams playing in 80 matches. It is expected that the United States will host 60 matches, with Canada and Mexico expected to host 10 matches each.

Vancouver to Host 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup Matches

The selected cities in alphabetical order are:

CANADA: Toronto, Vancouver
UNITED STATES: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
MEXICO: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey

“Soccer is a globally unifying sport. It is an important sport to Musqueam – just like it is important to so many communities around the world. We are thrilled to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in our ancestral territory. There is no doubt that our youth will not only take pride in our involvement, but be inspired to continue playing the game that so many of us love.” – Chief Wayne Sparrow, Musqueam Indian Band

This is the first time that FIFA Men’s World Cup matches will be played on Canadian soil, and the tournament is watched by billions of people around the world. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support the tourism sector, put the global spotlight on British Columbia and inspire the next generation of players.

“The Squamish Nation is thrilled the FIFA World Cup will kick off on our shared traditional territories in 2026! We look forward to working with our partners to make this world cup the biggest and best one yet. This event will promote Coast Salish cultures and languages to billions of soccer fans around the world and will inspire all Indigenous athletes to compete on the global stage.” – Sxwíxwtn, Wilson Williams, spokesperson, Squamish First Nation

At this time, the estimated costs for planning, staging and hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 in BC range from $240 million to $260 million. This estimate is before considering offsetting contributions from the federal government and the City of Vancouver, stadium and training site rentals and other sources, and potential marketing opportunities that are expected to generate revenue. Additionally, early modelling from Destination BC and BC Stats estimates that the tournament could bring more than $1 billion in new revenue to BC’s tourism sector during the tournament and in the five years following, depending on the number of matches played in Vancouver.

“Soccer is incredibly important to the Tsleil-Waututh community, and we are pleased that this tournament will be hosted in our territory in 2026. Sport is like medicine to our people and can help heal and inspire our communities. We are excited to collaborate on these games and look forward to the opportunities they will bring to our people.” – Chief Jen Thomas, Tsleil-Waututh Nation

Vancouver (including BC Place Stadium) was invited to apply to plan and stage matches in summer 2026, and the city was approved as one of 22 candidate host cities in April 2022.

“We are ecstatic that Vancouver has been named a host city for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. This is an incredible opportunity to welcome everyone back to Vancouver, as we did for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and once again celebrate our special city. Vancouver Whitecaps FC are excited to support our partners at the Province of British Columbia, City of Vancouver, and BC Place Stadium as we get set to host the world in our home city and stadium.” – Axel Sschuter, Vancouver Whitecaps FC sporting director and chief executive officer.

The next FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar in November 2022. The Canadian men’s national team qualified for a place at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, a first since 1986.

Miss604 was the City of Vancouver’s Official Blogger during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup