The World Cup will be played on Canadian soil in 2026.

The United World Cup bid’s split of games is still open for discussion, even though the people at the top of the effort feel confident that their proposed schedule won’t change.

It’s easy for Moroccans to point out just how the United bid isn’t, well, very united.

In fact, bidding on both events for the same year is a plus, said Canada Soccer General Secretary Peter Montopoli.

There's an assumption from the bid committee that Canada's World Cup hosting duties will be spread out. So, if only two cities are selected in the end, it CANNOT be Montreal-Toronto or Vancouver-Edmonton

The bid committee overseeing the joint U.S./Canada/Mexico push for the 2026 World Cup released an updated list of potential host cities for the tournament on Thursday.

The United Bid Committee announced Tuesday that it has sent Requests for Information to 44 cities in North American, regarding a total of 49 stadiums. Included on the list are Toronto (2), Montreal (2), Vancouver, Ottawa, Regina, Calgary and Edmonton. 

Montreal is an event town. And that was shown to be true during the Women’s World Cup, where attendances were small for early games not involving the likes of Canada or the United States. But, when the games grew in importance, so did the crowds at Olympic Stadium

The director of Canada’s Women’s World Cup stadiums said Tuesday that the much-maligned turf at BC Place will “likely” be replaced before the tournament kicks off in June.

Cautious optimism. That’s the best way to describe Montreal’s reaction to Canada’s 2026 World Cup bid. No letters of support have been written. And, in a city and province that still feel the costs of hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics, big events like a World Cup can feel like déjà vu all over again...