Seattle Tapped As A 2026 World Cup Host City

SEATTLE — Seattle will serve as one of 16 hosts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, bringing the biggest tournament in international sports to the Emerald City, home of the two-time MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders and the roaring crowds of Lumen Field.

"We are proud and honored to have Lumen Field selected as a host venue for the FIFA World Cup 2026," said Chuck Arnold, president of the Seahawks and First & Goal, Inc. "Lumen Field was truly built for this, and we can't wait to show fans from around the globe the electric, energizing atmosphere our stadium is known for. We are grateful to FIFA for recognizing Lumen Field as one of North America's most premier sports and entertainment venues and entrusting us to host such a prestigious international event."

In four years, North America will welcome World Cup revelers for the first time since 1994 — before Major League Soccer played its first season — and cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada will share the honors. The United States had hosted the World Cup just once, nearly three decades ago, and Mexico hosted the tournament in 1970 and 1986.

FIFA announced the first-of-its-kind "United 2026" joint hosting plan in 2018, and Thursday revealed which of the finalist cities made the cut during a live broadcast on Fox Sports.

Western host cities

• Vancouver, B.C. (BC Place)
• Seattle (Lumen Field)
• San Francisco/Bay Area (Levi's Stadium)
• Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)
• Guadalajara, Mexico (Estadio Akron)

Central host cities

• Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)
• Dallas (AT&T Stadium)
• Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
• Houston (NRG Stadium)
• Monterrey, Mexico (Estadio BBVA)
• Mexico City (Estadio Azteca)

Eastern host cities

• Toronto (BMO Field)
• Boston (Gillette Stadium)
• Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)
• Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
• New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)

Seventeen stadiums in 16 areas remained in contention to be among 10-12 selected from the U.S. for the tournament, which will be co-hosted with Mexico and Canada. The U.S. will host 60 of the 80 games under FIFA’s plan, including all from the quarterfinals on, and there was little doubt over the venues for 10 games each in the other nations.

Last time, the nine U.S. stadiums were announced during a Waldorf-Astoria news conference 816 days before the opener. This time, the decisions were revealed by FIFA in a Fox television studio 1,456 days before the likely start.

Just two of the contending stadiums hosted games in 1994, the Rose Bowl joined by Orlando. Dozens of training complexes have been built for MLS teams, creating a far better infrastructure than at the first World Cup in the U.S., when Italy worked out at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and the U.S. practiced ahead of its opener on a wind-swept field at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

For Seattle, the Sounders' sprawling new Renton headquarters and training facility is scheduled for completion in 2024 and ready for teams to utilize during the tournament.

All U.S. stadiums forecast capacities of 60,000 or larger. Three have retractable roofs and one a fixed roof. Ten have artificial turf but would switch to temporary grass.

This will be the first 48-nation World Cup, up from the 32-team format used since 1998. In a tournament likely to run from June 11 to July 12, but possibly start and end a week later, there will be 16 groups of three nations. Each team will play two first-round games instead of three as part of an awkward arrangement in which one nation in each group opens against an opponent who will have already played. The top two in each group advance to a 32-nation knockout bracket.

Revenue has skyrocketed: The 1994 Cup drew a record 3.59 million fans and grossed $580 million, which produced a profit of $133.25 million for FIFA and $50 million for the U.S. organizing committee. FIFA said the 2018 World Cup in Russia produced $5.357 billion in revenue over the four-year cycle and a $3.533 billion surplus.

FIFA requires bidders to obtain “a limited tax exemption” for FIFA, teams and other entities involved, and the Missouri Legislature last month approved a sales tax exemption for June and July 2026. Chicago dropped out in 2018 over FIFA's demands.

The 2022 World Cup will take place in Qatar in November.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.