Mexico are putting the finishing touches of their bid to host the 2026 World Cup, according to Record.
It is expected that the U.S. will also bid on the tournament. The U.S. controversially lost out on hosting the 2022 World Cup to Qatar and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati has made no secret of his belief that the country could host easy because of the existing infrastructure. However, he has also said that the U.S. will not bid on a World Cup again until the process is reformed in the wake of bribery allegations in past bid processes.
Mexico federation president Decio de Maria believes that his country can put together an excellent tournament, in large part because of the stadiums that clubs there have built recently.
"The infrastructure in Mexican soccer has grown, it has improved," de Maria told ESPN. "I think World Cups today don't require as many stadiums as the ones used in Brazil (in 2014). You can have a contest with a few less stadiums. And I think that all Mexicans should dream of us having a World Cup."
Monterrey, Guadalajara and Torreon have all had new stadiums built in the last seven years and Estadio Azteca in Mexico City is in the midst of a major renovation.
Mexico has hosted the World Cup twice before, first in 1970 and then again in 1986 when Colombia pulled out late in the process.
The World Cup has not been in North America since 1994, when the U.S. hosted. FIFA has awarded World Cups to every other continent since, including Europe three times and Asia twice, so many believe that North America will have a leg up in hosting in 2026.
New FIFA president Gianna Infantino has said that he favors joint-hosting so it is possible that the U.S. and Mexico team up to shate hosting responsibilities. However, at this point there is no indication from either country that they would like to do so.
