Toronto celebrates a successful United 2026 bid for FIFA World Cup

#JohnTory, #FIFAWorldCup2018; #BillManning; #JohnHerdman; #JamesMaloney, #MarkGrimes; #2026FIFAWorldCup

Toronto, June 13 (Canadian-Media): Toronto Mayor John Tory was joined today by Toronto FC President Bill Manning and John Herdman, Canada's Men's National Team Head Coach at BMO field to discuss and celebrate the successful United 2026 bid for the FIFA World Cup of soccer in 2026, media reports said.  

FIFA World Cup of soccer 2016 Canada

James Maloney, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, and Councillor Mark Grimes (Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore), Chair of the Board of Exhibition Place, also joined in the celebration.

"Today it was decided that one of the world's largest and most popular sporting events will come to Canada for the first time," said Mayor Tory. "The FIFA World Cup is a once in a generation opportunity to showcase Canada to the world and Toronto will be making a strong case to host games in our city." 

The City Council in Feb 2018 had authorized Toronto city to enter into  Host City and Stadium Agreements for the 2026 FIFA World Cup enabling Toronto to become part of the United 2026 bid. ​

Since last year, the City has been collaborating with the Canadian Soccer Association, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Toronto FC, Tourism Toronto, the other Canadian host cities who were involved in the United 2026 bid to win this opportunity.

It will reportedly be the first time that the FIFA World Cup will be hosted by more than one country. 

Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton are the three Canadian cities which are part of the United 2026 bid, which includes 23 potential host cities in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

FIFA's governing body voted for these three nations, earlier today, to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The individual host cities will reportedly be officially selected in 2021.

"Today is a historic day for soccer in Canada. We’ll see in the build-up over the next eight years how this event, more than any other sporting event on the planet, brings people together," said Toronto FC President Bill Manning. "We hope that the next announcement is that Toronto will be selected as a host city. On behalf of MLSE, we are ready and we can’t wait to welcome the world here to our city, BMO Field and BMO Training Ground."

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the one of the largest sports event with a record 48 nations contesting the Cup at 80 matches over a 30-day period.​​

​Reportedly  Canada and Mexico will host 10 matches each, with the remaining games being played at U.S. locations.

"Hosting the FIFA World Cup in Canada has the potential to change the sport in this country forever," said Herdman. "This moment is an opportunity to inspire a generation of players and further grow and unite the already substantial soccer community in Canada." ​
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