2026 World Cup Final to be Played in New Jersey!
New York, Feb 5 (EFE). –
World football’s governing body FIFA has chosen iconic MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey to host the final of the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly organized by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
“Another win for New York City and New Jersey—the world’s game is coming to the world’s biggest stage! The FIFA World Cup 2026 FINAL is coming to town, and we are ready to take the pitch,” New York mayor Eric Adams wrote on his social network X account.
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy expressed his delight in X at the announcement as a “lifelong soccer fan.”
Adams and Murphy also shared a joint video on their networks in which they highlighted the diversity of their cities.
The 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, the home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets of the NFL, beat the competition of Dallas with AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Los Angeles with SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to win the right to host the final.
Inaugurated in 2010 to take over from the old Giants Stadium, and after an investment of 1.6 billion dollars, this venue has already hosted the final of the Copa America Centenario in 2016, when Chile beat Argentina on penalties.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to be played with 48 teams instead of the usual 32, which will give rise to a record of 104 games in total.
FIFA on Sunday also revealed the complete calendar and the allotment of venues for the tournament, which will end on July 19 in New York.
The opening match will be held on June 11 at the legendary Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, the first venue to host three World Cups and also three inaugural matches of the great football event.
With three countries hosting the World Cup for the first time, the US will host the majority of the matches, with 11 of the 16 total venues—Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, and New York/New Jersey—in the country.
Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey are the three Mexican venues, while Vancouver and Toronto will be the Canadian cities for this World Cup.
Though Dallas was denied the final match, it was chosen as the venue for a maximum of nine matches in the tournament.
For Mexico, it will be the third time that the FIFA World Cup comes to its country after the 1970 and 1986 tournaments.
The United States previously hosted the 1994 edition, when the final was held in Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl. EFE
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