Less than two months from the deadline for submission of its proposal, the tri-nation North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup has "not secured the government guarantees on visa-free travel plus work permit and tax exemptions demanded by FIFA," according to Simon Evans of REUTERS. Bid officials said, however, that they "have the support of all three governments" for their joint proposal and expect to have the guarantees, part of over 70,000 pages of contracts, in place by the March 16 deadline. The U.S. wants to host the '26 tournament in a joint bid with Canada and Mexico, which would also have to "commit to the government guarantees for their proposal to be accepted" by FIFA. CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani said that getting the guarantees "was not in doubt but was a slow process." He said, "It is not necessarily tricky from a 'it isn't going to happen;' it just takes a lot of time and you have to talk to a lot of people and get a lot of people to sign off" (REUTERS, 1/23).
EDMONTON WANTS IN: In Edmonton, Hina Alam reported Edmonton will "put its name forward" to join the North American bid. The games have the potential to bring an estimated $170M in economic impact, according to a report to a committee meeting last week. The estimated cost for a host city ranges from $35M to $55M, according to Canada Soccer. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said, "There are a few more details to be worked out before everything is finalized. But absolutely ... we're putting our hand up and saying we would love to see the World Cup here in 2026" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 1/23).
