Listen Live
Classix Philly Featured Video
CLOSE

La Copa Mundial or the FIFA World Cup is officially coming to the city of brotherly love.

FIFA, the world’s foremost soccer association, previously announced that North America will primary destination for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Philadelphia has been a primary sports hosting destination for years. A city with 5 major sports teams, and possibly a WNBA team on the way, it was destined for Philly to qualify as a part of the 16 host cities for the gigantic soccer tournament.

Philadelphia’s two venues to host the various national soccer teams are Lincoln Financial Field and Subaru Park.

FIFA has its eyes set on The Linc for majority hosting duties but Subaru Park could carry the supporting duties if needed. Of course the larger venue get priority. The Linc can seat about 62,000 fans, and the city is expecting to see 500,000 people to visit Philly during the cup.  Even though Lincoln Financial Field is primarily used as the destination for the Philadelphia Eagles, this isn’t The Linc’s first time hosting soccer tournaments. The Women’s World Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America Centenario have all touched the Philly turf. The city also believes the economic implications are positive, 3,500 news jobs and over a quarter of a billion dollars could be a part of the equation.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in a statement sees the hosting bid as an “incredible win”.

This is an incredible win for Philadelphia and sets the stage for an unprecedented year for our city in 2026.

FIFA saw what we all know is true: Philadelphia is a welcoming, world-class city and we have the experience to deliver a fantastic experience for teams, fans, and sponsors alike. In the last five years, tremendous work has been put forth on behalf of this bid, especially as we navigated multi-year delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am immensely proud of the exceptional work that we presented to FIFA, and I am grateful to the many partners who came together to support this Bid, including the PHLCVB, which led the charge dating back to the United Bid in 2016-17 and the Philadelphia Eagles, who have made Lincoln Financial Field such a spectacular venue.

I especially want to thank Ambassador David L. Cohen and Dan Hilferty who served as passionate Chairs for this Bid. Their commitment to the vitality and success of our city cannot be overstated and FIFA’s selection of Philadelphia as a Host City reflects the power of their civic leadership.

For that, and much more, we owe them a debt of gratitude.

The last time the United States hosted a world cup was back in 1994.

The futbol fanatic nation of Brazil won the trophy that year, while the U.S. finished in 14th place. That 14th place finish was the start of the United States’ concern about their place in the futbol world. Two years later Major League Soccer was born in the efforts to promote and encourage the world’s biggest game upon the American youth. In current day, the U.S. is a formidable opponent against the world’s powerhouse countries. The Men’s National Soccer team has never held up the World Cup trophy. The Women’s National Soccer shattered expectations by capturing 4 FIFA World Cup trophies and 4 Olympic golds in their existence.

Considering the excitement shown outside Love Park on Thursday, it’s safe to say soccer has gained traction in the American consensus.

For more news, slide tackle your way to classixphilly.com.