Aggrieved at missing out on the chance to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cups, CONCACAF "is adamant it should be given" the '26 tournament, according to Julian Linden of REUTERS. CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb said that "it was only fair" that the region should be awarded the 2026 World Cup after losing its place in the queue when FIFA "scrapped its rotational policy after selecting Brazil as the 2014 host." Webb: "From a CONCACAF perspective, our focus for the World Cup is 2026. We're committed to that. That's not about the U.S.A. hosting the World Cup, for us it's about a confederation standpoint." Although FIFA scrapped its rotation policy, it "did introduce a new rule stipulating that countries could not host the World Cup if another nation from their confederations had staged either of the past two." This rule means that Europe and Asia "are already out of the running" for 2026, leaving CONCACAF "as the frontrunners to win the vote ahead of any possible bids from Africa, South America or Oceania" (REUTERS, 5/14).
