FedEx Field in Maryland drops out as 2026 World Cup site

By: The Associated Press Posted: 2:37 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 21, 2022 Last Modified: 5:17 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 21, 2022

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WASHINGTON (AP) — FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, dropped out of bidding on Thursday to host games at the 2026 World Cup, and the Washington area merged its campaign with Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2022 (1606 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The joint bid would have a fan festival on the District of Columbia’s National Mall.

FedEx Field, opened in 1997, was among the older facilities that initially bid in 2017. It hosted matches during the 1999 Women’s World Cup. D.C.’s RFK Stadium was the site of matches during the 1994 men’s World Cup and is slated for demolition.

FILE - FedEx Field is viewed prior to an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Washington Football Team, Dec. 27, 2020, in Landover, Md. FedEx Field dropped out of bidding on Thursday, April 21, 2022, to host soccer games at the 2026 World Cup, and the Washington area merged its campaign with Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally, File)

Seventeen U.S. stadiums in 16 areas remain in the bidding for the World Cup, with the Los Angeles area submitting both SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, site of the 1994 World Cup final.

Three cities each in Canada and Mexico are bidding. The bid plan envisioned 16 total sites for the tournament. FIFA targeted mid-May for announcing site selections, but that has pushed that back until at least mid-June.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first with 48 nations and the first with three co-hosts. FIFA selected the bid as joint host in June 2018.

Sixty games are to be played in the U.S., including all from the quarterfinals on. Canada and Mexico are to host 10 games each.

The remaining areas and stadiums:

UNITED STATES

Arlington, Texas, AT&T Stadium; Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium; Cincinnati, Paul Brown Stadium; Denver, Empower Field at Mile High; East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium; Foxborough, Massachusetts, Gillette Stadium; Houston, NRG Stadium; Inglewood, California, SoFi Stadium; Kansas City, Missouri, Arrowhead Stadium; Miami Gardens, Florida, Hard Rock Stadium; Nashville, Tennessee, Nissan Stadium; Orlando, Florida, Camping World Stadium; Pasadena, California, Rose Bowl; Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field; Santa Clara, California, Levi’s Stadium; Seattle, Lumen Field.

CANADA