COMMON GOAL

CITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA ARE LOOKING TO SCORE BIG WHEN THE WORLD CUP ARRIVES NEXT SUMMER

- BOYD FARROW

THE COUNTDOWN HAS begun. In 10 months' time, the 23rd FIFA World Cup—the biggest sporting tournament on the planet—will kick off, and the 2026 event will mark several notable firsts.

It will be the first time that the quadrennial competition will take place in three different countries: the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It will be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams—up from the 32 of the previous seven contests. The matches will take place over an extended 39-day period—from Thursday, June 11, to Sunday, July 19—and in a record number of 16 stadiums in 16 cities. And the prize pot will be a record-breaking $1 billion. While relations between the U.S. and its cohosts may be frostier than in 2018, when the winning bid for the tournament was announced—under the banner “United 2026”—all three countries have a great deal to play for.

According to a World Trade Organization report, hosting 78 out of the tournament's 104 games in 11 cities could net a staggering $17.2 billion to the U.S. economy. FIFA expects America to greet the vast majority of the 6.5 million World Cup tourists, who are expected to spend $6.4 billion on U.S. soil. Longer-term gains include big infrastructure upgrades and huge boosts for cities keen to raise their international profile. Assessments suggest that both the economies of Canada and Mexico, which will each host 13 matches, will receive a boost of approximately $3 billion apiece.

Obviously, the hospitality, media and travel sectors in the three host countries have a huge amount riding on the event, especially as most economists are now predicting a global recession in 2026. But tens of thousands of businesses, large and small, all over the world have skin in the game, too.