Say what you want about the infrastructure across America and you probably have a point. Taxpayers can't seem to ever agree on where to put their tax dollars and which projects to prioritize.
Sports Bring People Together
When it comes to sports, something miraculous happens. Everyone comes together and seemingly, the money is found to fund multi-billion dollar stadium projects and developments in and around the immediate vicinity of these architectural masterpieces.
Just look at cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta, all of which in the past few years, have inaugurated state-of-the-art facilities that will play host to several matches of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. FIFA revealed the cities that would host matches, and to be honest, none of them came as a surprise. Even Kansas City, which boasts a successful Major League Soccer team and incredible soccer fanbase, has proven itself worthy of hosting matches with strong showings during multiple international friendly matches played in front of them.
FIFA Knows Best
It’s clear that FIFA spread the love as much as possible across the continent with their whole plan for regional training camps meant to limit the distance teams must fly during the tournament.
Although they missed a couple of key destinations, it's clear that they tried to spread the pie across key MLS cities with great fan bases.
Mexico, which will also play host to several matches across three cities, would be an amazing experience for just about any with the exception of the USMNT. Guadalajara and it's large metropolitan area, Monterey, perhaps Mexico’s most industrialized city, and the historic Mexico City are hosting their suite of games. All of this comes as no surprise as the country has previously hosted World Cups in 1970 and 1986.
The Armpit of America
In a baffling turn of events it was revealed that 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A city–err–region, synonymous for failure when it comes to sports, was awarded the final of what will be the biggest World Cup to date. You heard it right–the armpit of America was awarded with the most coveted matchup in sport.
Nothing quite says "On behalf of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, Welcome to North America," –like a family photo with the State of Liberty in the background.
The deliberate effort to take our international guests, reduce them to tourists, and relegate them to a region with the pungent smells oil refinery-mixed with landfill is a different level of disrespect. Perhaps, the only positive in all of this, is they won't have to get out of their rental cars to pump their gas.
An Event Unlike Any Other
The 2026 World Cup bid is unlike any other before it and perhaps, will serve as a new blueprint for how large scale tournaments are hosted in the future. Three awkward neighbors came together, invited everyone they knew–even the ones out of their league, and closed off the street. We've got ourselves a block party and the entire world's invited. It's gonna be epic.
