It has not even been two months since the thrilling World Cup finished in Qatar with Argentina and Lionel Messi lifting the coveted trophy after trouncing France, FIFA has already started preparing for the next World Cup scheduled to be played in the North American countries of United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA has recently announced that the teams of the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico have been given automatic qualification for the World Cup 2026 as the trio is the joint host of the tournament. The host nation has historically been given automatic qualification for the event but since it is the first time three nations will be holding the event, there were question marks raised over the qualification spots.
World Cup 2026 will be the biggest World Cup ever with the format scheduled to change and the event will be featuring 48 teams from around the Globe. CONCACAF has been allotted 6 spots at the event but since the host nations have already been qualified, there will only be a further three teams from CONCACAF.
Soccer’s coming home
— PICKETTSBURGH (@PickettsburghKP) February 14, 2023
FIFA announced the news in a statement that read: “In addition, the FIFA Council confirmed that, in line with the long-standing tradition of having all hosts competing at the FIFA World Cup, as well as sporting and operational considerations, the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Canada, Mexico, and the USA, will qualify automatically for the final round of the competition”.
The fans of the three countries couldn’t stop talking about the news of them participating in the World Cup 2026 after successfully participating in Qatar. Some fans were too excited and went on to say that “Soccer’s coming home” after the announcement was made.
Saudi Arabia preparing a bid for World Cup 2030
There have been several rumors that Saudi Arabia are preparing a bid to host the World Cup 2030 in the country. The Arab nation will be motivated after their neighbors Qatar successfully hosted the tournament last year and the traveling fans from across the globe were full of praise for the Qatar authorities.
Saudi Arabia Has Agreed To Build Greece Every Stadium It Needs If They Agree To Join A Bid With The Saudis And Egypt To Host The 2030 World Cup https://t.co/o5RBAgdnm9 pic.twitter.com/l3Ihh4bUK4
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 8, 2023
Saudi Arabia has begun to upscale their interest in soccer ever since the Saudi Public Investment Fund bought Premier League club Newcastle United which was followed by a Saudi club, Al-Nassr successfully buying one of the biggest superstars of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo going to Saudi has surely boosted the soccer game in the country and there were numerous reports of another Saudi club, Al-Hilal trying to sign Lionel Messi after the delay in his contract renewal with PSG.
It looks like the Saudi government is currently finding ways to boost the game in the country before they try and prepare the bid to host one of the biggest sporting events in the sporting industry.