Nashville On Shorter Long List Of Potential 2026 World Cup Host Cities

NASHVILLE, TN — The list of potential host cities for games in soccer's 2026 World Cup has been trimmed to 32 and Nashville is still alive.

The United Bid Committee, which will submit its bid to soccer governing body FIFA in March 2018, trimmed its initial list of 44 cities — 34 in the U.S, seven in Canada and three in Mexico — from which it ultimately expects to send 20 to 25 as part of its bid package. If FIFA then selects the NAFTA bid, a dozen or so cities will actually host games.

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Nashville was included in U.S. Soccer's bid to bring the World Cup to the United States in either 2018 or 2022. Ultimately, FIFA awarded the event to Russia and Qatar, respectively, in a process seen as rife with corruption and leading to the arrest of numerous international soccer power players and the ousting of FIFA's top leaders.

In addition to a stadium capable of hosting international soccer — requirements are a 40,000-seat facility for early-round matches and 80,000 for the final; Nissan Stadium would not be eligible for final round matches — each city must propose international-level training sites and locations for team base camps, and hotels for teams, staff and VIP’s. The Bid Committee will also evaluate cities on their commitment to sustainable event management, human rights, environmental protection, aspirations to develop soccer and the positive social impact they anticipate in the local community and beyond stemming from the event.

The list of cities still in the hunt are:

• Atlanta
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Dallas
• Denver
• Detroit
• Houston
• Kansas City, Mo.
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Minneapolis
• Nashville
• New York/New Jersey
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix/Glendale
• Salt Lake City
• San Francisco Bay Area
• Seattle
• Tampa
• Washington/Landover
• Edmonton, Alb.
• Montreal
• Toronto
• Vancouver
• Guadalajara, Jallisco
• Mexico City
• Monterey, Neuvo Leon

The 2026 World Cup is the first in which FIFA has allowed joint bids and will be the first to feature 48 teams. The only other confirmed official bid, beyond the NAFTA effort, is from Morocco.

Image via Shutterstock