2026 World Cup Coming to North America, Maybe Texas

MOSCOW-- For the first time since 1994, the FIFA World Cup will take place on American soil.

Early Wednesday morning, the unified bid of Canada, Mexico and the United States was voted over the Moroccan bid 134 to 65.

The bid, known as United 2026, promises 16 host cities across the three countries with 23 possible candidates. Of those possible 23, Dallas and Houston are contenders to host.

NRG Stadium in Houston and AT&T Stadium in Arlington are on the list.

Both stadiums have experience hosting international soccer tournaments. NRG Stadium hosted multiple games in the 2016 Copa America Centenario, including the semifinal between the US and Argentina.

In 1994, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas was used as a venue and hosted Group C, which featured Germany, Spain, South Korea and Bolivia, Group D, which featured Argentina, Bulgaria, Greece and Nigeria, and knock-out round matches in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals.

The minimum capacity requirement for stadiums in the 2026 World Cup is 40,000 with minimum capacity for the opening match and the final at 80,000. Also, the minimum capacity for the semi-finals is 60,000.

None of the 16 venues have been determined, but AT&T Stadium with an expandable capacity of 100,000 is one of the front-runners and could be used as the venue for the 2026 final.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first where the tournament expands to 48 teams from six confederations in 16 groups of three. Right now, the field of the World Cup is made up of 32 teams from the six confederations in eight groups of four.

Each country hosting the World Cup will get an automatic berth into the field for the 2026 World Cup.