The funny thing is, during the whole tournament the U.S. have to grant free travel, even to people from "shithole countries". Qatar had the worst grades among all candidates for 2022, that makes their win even more ridicolous. Would've preferred anyone else, including Morocco, by far.
I think they’ll go with the 10 biggest international airports from that list. NY, LA, Miami, San Fran, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, DC, Boston and Seattle.
Travelling to the US for non US residents is a nightmare. I guess there will be enough Americans willing to pay to make it successful anyway.
They'll have plenty of time for visa applications and all the red tape. If it's anything like Europe, they'll start strong and then fade at the end.
I'm hoping they go with a North (Canada and USA 35 degree+) and South (Mexico and USA 35 degree-) group and bracket structure to allow fans easier/cheaper travel.
I find it interesting that id you slice the word bid in half, you get two bi's, and what you make of that is an entirely different ball game.
This was reading like the standard write-up about showing off Houston's positive aspects but the bolded quote near the end of the article is a little puzzling. Is Canetti implying the visit didn't go well or that the city now has a list of items to accomplish in order to be awarded matches? 2026 World Cup Bid Committee hosts star-studded site visit for FIFA officials With a delegation of FIFA representatives in town for a site visit this week, the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee knew it had to pull out all the stops. The committee had made its first pitch to FIFA officials last year, virtually, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the delegation came to the Bayou City in person for this week's visit. The delegation, led by Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani, landed in Houston on Monday, Oct. 25, for a 36-hour site visit. Houston is one of 17 U.S. cities vying for a chance to host matches in the 2026 World Cup, which will be spread across sites in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. In Houston, World Cup matches would be held at NRG Stadium, the 72,000-seat home of the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Chris Canetti, president of the Bid Committee, said the FIFA delegation stayed at the Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston, which was named No. 1 on U.S. News & World Report's 2021 Best Hotels in Texas list earlier this year. There they were greeted by hotel owner and Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta before turning in to prepare for the bulk of the site tour the following day. During a two-hour briefing Tuesday morning, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner; Bid Committee Chairman and former energy executive John Arnold; Janis Burke, CEO of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority; and various other city representatives made the case for Houston. "From police to emergency management to airports, hotels, transport, IT, cybersecurity — a whole array of individuals who would have areas of responsibility in organizing and executing the event," Canetti said. Other delegates traveled to evaluate potential practice and training facilities around the city, including PNC Stadium (formerly BBVA Stadium), the University of Houston, Rice University and the city's new rugby stadium, Aveva Stadium. After the meeting, the delegation mingled with other VIPs during a lunch at Willie G's, Canetti said, including the new majority owner of the Houston Dynamo and Dash, Ted Segal. The delegates then ventured to NRG Stadium for a walkthrough of the facility, where they were welcomed by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. To showcase the city's transportation infrastructure to move fans to and from games, the delegation boarded a private Metro light-rail train for a ride from NRG Stadium to a press conference downtown at Discovery Green. While aboard the Metro line, delegates mingled with former notable athletes, including Dynamo stars DaMarcus Beasley and Brian Ching as well as Houston Texans Safety Justin Reid, Canetti said. Luckily for the Bid Committee, Houston happened to be hosting a major sporting event the same day the FIFA officials planned their site visit. The delegation wrapped up Tuesday at Game 1 of the 2021 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves. Astros Owner Jim Crane and star former pitcher Roger Clemens stopped by to greet the group during the game, Canetti said. And despite the Braves beating the Astros 6-2 during Game 1 Tuesday night, it was an opportunity to showcase a large-scale live sports event to the delegates, Canetti said. After the FIFA officials boarded a charter flight for their next stop Wednesday morning, Canetti and the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee had a moment to reflect. "After [Tuesday's] meetings, we learned some things that we're going to use as we try to strategize and map out a plan going forward," Canetti said. "I think there are certain priorities that have become clear that we need to focus on now." Canetti previously served as president of the Houston Dynamo for 13 seasons. He stepped down from the Dynamo in 2018 to lead the 2026 World Cup Bid Committee. Earlier this month, the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid Committee announced plans to build the Soccer Innovation Institute if the Bayou City is selected to host a 2026 FIFA World Cup game. https://www.bizjournals.com/houston...elegation-world-cup-site-visit-committee.html
The US could host the world cup every year without a hitch. Pissant nations like Qatar got theirs through slave labor and bribes. **** FIFA. I'm glad their sport is irrelevant in the states.
No, it's not. You guys are living the high life right now with AFC...but give that a couple of seasons of mediocrity. Then the city and fan base will go back to being UT only. The soccer community, of which I was part of for 15 years, is not big enough to sustain the success at the gate they've been having without putting a winning team on the field consistently. My prediction for AFC when they announced the move was that they would become San Antonio FC within a decade. Might be a little fast but I still think it happens eventually. Also, Houston has a major airport, more hotels, more mass transit, more people, a good size stadium that has already hosted major international tournament matches (DKR would be the only possibility there and I don't think it would workout field wise and where the hell would people park?). Q2 doesn't hold nearly enough.
I don't know how long ago you were here, but with the Bold, and Austin FC, soccer is quickly becoming the sport here in Austin. Austin also has a major airport, plenty of hotels, mass transit, a good sized stadium and has hosted a WC Qualifying game with Jamaica. Face it Leroy, you just don't want to drive! DD
What stadium are you suggesting? DKR is too big and not sure they have the field dims that would work, and Q2 is too small. Admittedly, I left there 7 years ago but still have a lot of connections to the city and the soccer community. I see friends who have otherwise never been into soccer frequenting games. Those same people won't be anywhere near there if the poor results continue into year 3 or 4. Not sure what you consider a major airport but most, I think, would not consider ABIA on the level of IAH or DFW. At the least, having more than one actual terminal would be a dividing line. I drive there all the time and would be happy to if it meant a WC game.
I imagine the games in the states will be played exclusively in NFL stadiums You dont hold a world cup in the states and then play games in 30k stadiums I'm not sure how many games will be given to mexico but i would think Monterrey, Guadalajara and MX city would be the host cities Monterrey probably has the best soccer specific stadium in the americas Chivas has a fairly modern stadium and of course Azteca for its history would have to be one of the stadiums
Completely agree that Austin would never host an actual World Cup game. We don't have appropriate venues. I went to the inaugural Austin FC match and let me tell you, a lot of people in that crowd were surprised to learn that a game could end 0-0.
If you can play soccer at the Texans stadium you can play soccer at DKR....which is even bigger BTW. DD
I'm not talking about capacity. Of course DKR is larger, capacity wise. I'm talking about the ability to have a field that is the proper dimensions for a major international match. Not to mention that DKRs turf is not designed to be removed and put back. They would have to purchase and install a full grass field, have it in long enough to be stable, and then take it all out while purchasing an entirely new turf field, again. For maybe 3 matches. It's not as simple as having 100,000+ seats.
If I recall, Austin FC briefly explored the idea of playing home matches at Myers Stadium before UT shut that down. UT has no incentive to open, or dramatically alter, their facilities for one-time events. @leroy is correct that DKR's dimensions aren't expandable; the bench area is much narrower than NRG and it was never built with soccer in mind.
