Cincinnati excluded as host city for 2026 FIFA World Cup
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, announced Thursday that Cincinnati will not be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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The cities officially selected in the United States were: New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco Bay Area, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Missouri, and Boston. The World Cup will also be played outside the U.S. with five other cities in Mexico and Canada also hosing games including Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, and Vancouver, FIFA announced Thursday.
Including Cincinnati, five cities were excluded from hosting games including Baltimore/Washington D.C., Orlando, Nashville, Denver, and Edmonton, Canada.
Had Cincinnati been chosen, games would have been played at the Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium and not FC Cincinnati’s soccer-specific TQL Stadium.
Jeff Berding, co-CEO of FC Cincinnati, told our affiliate in Cincinnati, WCPO, that even though it was an unsuccessful bid, he feels it will help enhance the city and raise its international profile.
“I want to personally thank this community, our county and city government officials along with our corporate and civic leaders for supporting us in our efforts to bring the World Cup to Cincinnati,” said Jeff Berding, co-CEO of FC Cincinnati.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said they were proud of the effort and hope Cincinnati will get another opportunity to showcase itself on the world stage.
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“It was an honor to be in the running for the FIFA World Cup 2026, and the spotlight on Cincinnati as a potential host city provided a platform to show all that Cincinnati has to offer to an international audience,” DeWine said.
Carl Linder III, majority owner of FC Cincinnati, said he has his eyes on the future.
“One example of that is that Jeff (Berding) and I are going to work hard to try to get an MLS All-Star game here,” Linder said.
Berding said he would to get other big events in Cincinnati, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe the Rugby World Cup, big concerts,” Berding said. “We’ll have a mixed-use development around our stadium. We have a lot more to do.”
