THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
With the World Cup fast approaching, and the line up of countries for this year's event in Qatar now complete, thoughts also turn to the future, and the planning stages for the next finals in 2026.
Unless you've been under a rock recently, or oblivious to the news that the USA is to joint-host the worlds biggest sporting spectacle in four years' time, you may have also missed the recent announcement as to which cities in the three joint-host nation tournament will have games played. There has been much speculation as to which stadiums would be used and, let's be honest, with new state of the art arenas popping up each year most are worthy of hosting games. Having said that, they also have to be in a good region which has soccer as a mainstay in its city's roots.
The other two nations are Mexico, a country that is no stranger to hosting the event having done so in 1970 and 1986, and Canada, whose emergence on the field has been matched by one of the top teams in the Major Soccer League, Toronto. It was no real surprise that Toronto was one of two locations that will be used, but it's also the smallest capacity wise. The other lucky Canadian city is Vancouver. Down south of the border in Mexico we will see action at the Azteca Stadium again, that is in Mexico City, and Monterrey, as well as Guadalajara. All very well known for past World Cups that have standout memories.
So, what of the USA? Well, the sheer size of the country made the location choices difficult, and when you have superstadiums in Las Vegas, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Denver and Baltimore that dropped out of contention, then you know the ones chosen will be perfect to highlight the talent on display and welcome the world. One glaring omission though was Washington DC, as it seemed an obvious choice to have games in the nation's capital. The eleven that have been selected are as follows:
Five of these cities hosted games at the 1994 version of the tournament, the only other time that the States has hosted the World Cup, albeit some have had stadium changes. Early indications would suggest that either Los Angeles or New York are the favored venue for the Final itself – last time in 1994 it was the Rose Bowl that had that honour, so it's significant that has been left off the list. Obviously, there is a lot of time, and football to be played before we can really see the scope of what the 2026 World Cup will bring but FIFA President Gianni Infantino had a bold prediction, "By 2026 soccer or football will be the number one sport in this part of the world."
It's easy to see why Infantino made this claim, given that just days before another announcement was made that will see the way the game is viewed across the country change dramatically. Major League Soccer and Apple TV have secured a partnership that will see every single one of the MLS games played, streamed on the app for the next decade. The deal is worth a whopping $2.5 billion, as reported by the Financial Times.
From 2023, and over the next ten years, MLS fans can access all games through the streaming service, with additional Cup and MLS NEXT Pro games. Season Ticket holders will gain free access, with all games being broadcast in English, Spanish, and those in Canada can view in French.
Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, was understandably buoyant over the deal: "For the first time in the history of sports, fans will be able to access everything from a major professional sports league in one place. It's a dream come true for MLS fans, soccer fans, and anyone who loves sports. No fragmentation, no frustration. Just the flexibility to sign up for one convenient service that gives you everything MLS, anywhere and anytime you want to watch." Don Garber, MLS Commissioner, was also upbeat, "Apple is the perfect partner to further accelerate the growth of MLS and deepen the connection between our clubs and their fans. Given Apple's ability to create a best-in-class user experience and to reach fans everywhere, it'll be incredibly easy to enjoy MLS matches anywhere, whether you're a super fan or casual viewer." Subscribers can access a range of programming to assist the games, including in-depth behind the scenes views of the players and clubs, a weekly round up show, with detailed analysis.
