2026 FIFA World Cup

[Tg11]

Bare minimum for this 48 team World Cup, Canada should get to Round of 32

Because with this being a 48 team World Cup, you have Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and the World Cup Final

So bare minimum Canada is Round of 32 but anything beyond that would be a miracle

[Tg11]

But as far as ticket prices for games especially in Canada when the 2026 FIFA World Cup is hosted here and in USA and in Mexico...I know ticket prices will range anywhere from $100 to $1,000

[wave46]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Yaroslavl and Saransk are two World Cup 2018 cities that would have a huge leg up on cities like Regina & Winnipeg I'm sure.

If it was just Canada hosting the World Cup, Winnipeg and Regina would probably rate quite highly.

FIFA is spoiled for choice in cities to the south of us as this is a North America event. Even the second-rate cities chosen in the US (Cincinnati, Nashville, Kansas City) have much bigger populations and massive stadiums.

If you have to choose 3 cities in Canada, who would you choose? I think Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal are decent choices.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by Tg11

I still cannot even believe that us, Canada, we are co hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

I'm genuinely confused here.... did you join this forum entirely for the purpose of soccer world cup boosting? Aren't there better places to do that?

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I'm surprised Vancouver turned it down. Why did they? They have the best stadium next to Commonwealth.

Vancouver is just waiting until the USA/Canada Rugby World Cup bid for 2031



(unlikely now that USAR is bankrupt......)

[esquire]

Originally Posted by wave46

If it was just Canada hosting the World Cup, Winnipeg and Regina would probably rate quite highly.

FIFA is spoiled for choice in cities to the south of us as this is a North America event. Even the second-rate cities chosen in the US (Cincinnati, Nashville, Kansas City) have much bigger populations and massive stadiums.

If you have to choose 3 cities in Canada, who would you choose? I think Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal are decent choices.

Let's face it, Vancouver is probably Canada's most appealing city for the international FIFA jet set. But since they opted out, Edmonton takes the number three spot by default since they have the only really big stadium outside of Canada's 3 largest cities.

[Tg11]

Originally Posted by esquire

Let's face it, Vancouver is probably Canada's most appealing city for the international FIFA jet set. But since they opted out, Edmonton takes the number three spot by default since they have the only really big stadium outside of Canada's 3 largest cities.

Yeah that's true Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium is probably the biggest stadium but also the stadium that is the most World Cup ready. Next to that, Olympic Stadium may need some adjustments but it is for the most part World Cup ready. The real kicker though is BMO Field in Toronto because they are going to have to pour more money into expanding the stadium and renovating it just in time for 2026.

[Tg11]

Originally Posted by wave46

If it was just Canada hosting the World Cup, Winnipeg and Regina would probably rate quite highly.

FIFA is spoiled for choice in cities to the south of us as this is a North America event. Even the second-rate cities chosen in the US (Cincinnati, Nashville, Kansas City) have much bigger populations and massive stadiums.

If you have to choose 3 cities in Canada, who would you choose? I think Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal are decent choices.

Yeah these 3 cities are decent choices even though I would have gone Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to be honest

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Tg11

Yeah these 3 cities are decent choices even though I would have gone Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to be honest

FIFA would have too, but Vancouver opted out. I can understand why... Vancouver has already hosted high profile international events in recent years and the visibility boost means less to them.

[Tg11]

Originally Posted by esquire

FIFA would have too, but Vancouver opted out. I can understand why... Vancouver has already hosted high profile international events in recent years and the visibility boost means less to them.

I guess but Ottawa and or Winnipeg not even being considered well now I guess makes sense because they aren't exactly tourist crazy towns especially during World Cup season

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm sure this was mentioned somewhere along the line in the bidding process, but can anyone remind me how much will be spent on improvements to the three Canadian host venues? Are they getting major overhauls or minor touch-ups?

It's all in the bid book (all 530 peages) - training facilities, hotel numbers, tranport infrastructure etc - https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/w3...t5erw26wmu.pdf



edit: sorry - misread your post - ignore

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Tg11

I guess but Ottawa and or Winnipeg not even being considered well now I guess makes sense because they aren't exactly tourist crazy towns especially during World Cup season

I suspect that Edmonton's large stadium gave it a clear leg up over the others.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by Tg11

Yeah that's true Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium is probably the biggest stadium but also the stadium that is the most World Cup ready. Next to that, Olympic Stadium may need some adjustments but it is for the most part World Cup ready. The real kicker though is BMO Field in Toronto because they are going to have to pour more money into expanding the stadium and renovating it just in time for 2026.

Commonwealth has a long history of hosting FIFA level soccer.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by wave46

If it was just Canada hosting the World Cup, Winnipeg and Regina would probably rate quite highly.

FIFA is spoiled for choice in cities to the south of us as this is a North America event. Even the second-rate cities chosen in the US (Cincinnati, Nashville, Kansas City) have much bigger populations and massive stadiums.

If you have to choose 3 cities in Canada, who would you choose? I think Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal are decent choices.

Question is not what city but what stadiums are viable to play.
The stadium in Toronto is by far the smallest & least ready in NAmerica for the 2026 World Cup, spare that city the embarrassment (and Canada a couple hundred million $$$) and just have Edmonton & Montreal host Canada's share of games. Commonwealth is most easy to modify for World Cup and The Olympic Owe can probably still be held together for one last hurrah in 2026.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Question is not what city but what stadiums are viable to play.
The stadium in Toronto is by far the smallest & least ready in NAmerica for the 2026 World Cup, spare that city the embarrassment (and Canada a couple hundred million $$$) and just have Edmonton & Montreal host Canada's share of games. Commonwealth is most easy to modify for World Cup and The Olympic Owe can probably still be held together for one last hurrah in 2026.

*rustles hair* you little rascal

[Tg11]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Question is not what city but what stadiums are viable to play.
The stadium in Toronto is by far the smallest & least ready in NAmerica for the 2026 World Cup, spare that city the embarrassment (and Canada a couple hundred million $$$) and just have Edmonton & Montreal host Canada's share of games. Commonwealth is most easy to modify for World Cup and The Olympic Owe can probably still be held together for one last hurrah in 2026.

But then again in terms of economy Toronto is more richer than Montreal and Edmonton in terms of other areas like hotels, transportation, etc but also compared to both of those cities in Toronto there is a lot more you can do in terms of tourism/sightseeing/nightlife during World Cup time compared to Montreal or Edmonton hence why Toronto was chosen. Money talks at the end of the day.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Question is not what city but what stadiums are viable to play.

It's a combination of both. For anyone that hasn't read it yet i'd recommend reading the bid book from FIFA for the 2026 WC linked earlier in this thread. The qualifying formula for host cities is not just about stadiums.

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

The stadium in Toronto is by far the smallest & least ready in NAmerica for the 2026 World Cup, spare that city the embarrassment (and Canada a couple hundred million $$$) and just have Edmonton & Montreal host Canada's share of games. Commonwealth is most easy to modify for World Cup and The Olympic Owe can probably still be held together for one last hurrah in 2026.

You're joking, right? Unlike, say, Montreal, BMO doesn't need hundreds in millions in repairs just to make the cut. Olympic as it stands today is not a suitable venue for a World Cup and requies that investment just to be up to par. BMO, on the other hand, could conceivably host with additional added seats up to a capacity of 40K/45K. We went over all of this on this forum two years ago in the stadium thread on this very subject.

Toronto is the most obvious market for hosting WC games in Canada and anyone that says otherwise is either arguing in bad faith or is wilfully ignorant.

[Tg11]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Commonwealth has a long history of hosting FIFA level soccer.

That is a very big part of why Edmonton was chosen

[Tg11]

Originally Posted by JHikka

It's a combination of both. For anyone that hasn't read it yet i'd recommend reading the bid book from FIFA for the 2026 WC linked earlier in this thread. The qualifying formula for host cities is not just about stadiums.



You're joking, right? Unlike, say, Montreal, BMO doesn't need hundreds in millions in repairs just to make the cut. Olympic as it stands today is not a suitable venue for a World Cup and requies that investment just to be up to par. BMO, on the other hand, could conceivably host with additional added seats up to a capacity of 40K/45K.

Toronto is the most obvious market for hosting WC games in Canada and anyone that says otherwise is either arguing in bad faith or is wilfully ignorant.

Can I get an Amen?

[wave46]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Question is not what city but what stadiums are viable to play.
The stadium in Toronto is by far the smallest & least ready in NAmerica for the 2026 World Cup, spare that city the embarrassment (and Canada a couple hundred million $$$) and just have Edmonton & Montreal host Canada's share of games. Commonwealth is most easy to modify for World Cup and The Olympic Owe can probably still be held together for one last hurrah in 2026.

Sure, but the limit on sales of very profitable $1000 tickets is much lower in Regina and Winnipeg than Toronto. You could probably fill Mosaic or IG Field at $100 per ticket, but it's the cream of the crop tickets that make the money.

FIFA also considers the ancillary benefits (transit/accommodation/travel accessibility) of being in major cities too. If a government is willing to commit the money (Vancouver wasn't and they got cut) why wouldn't FIFA choose the biggest cities?

[Franco401]

I believe BMO isn't being renovated, it's going up to its temporary capacity as it has done on several occasions in the past.