FIFA’s 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force will visit the United States, Mexico and Canada in April, FIFA announced Friday.
Those three countries, who have a joint bid, are vying against Morocco to host the 2026 World Cup.
The task force will take in Mexico City April 9-10, Atlanta April 10-11, Toronto April 11-12 and New York City/New Jersey April 12-13.
The group will then head to Morocco to visit Marrakech April 16-17, Agadir April 17-18, Tangier April 18-19 and Casablanca April 19.
The cities to be visited have been chosen after consultation with the respective bid committees.
The main objective of the trips, which will comprise visits to specific locations as well as working meetings with the bid committees, will be to clarify certain technical aspects contained in the respective bid books. The visits to the member associations represent only one part of the overall assessment process implemented by the task force.
The task force is composed of:
* Tomaz Vesel, chairman of the audit and compliance committee
* Mukul Mudgal, chairman of the governance committee
* Ilcho Gjorgjioski, member of the organizing committee for competitions
* Marco Villiger, FIFA deputy secretary general (administration)
* Zvonimir Boban, FIFA deputy secretary general (football)
The members of the task force will not give interviews during the visits, according to FIFA. Potential photo and filming opportunities will be organized by the respective bid committees. Further details on these opportunities will be provided by the respective bid committees.
FIFA will publish additional information, including the evaluation reports, after the evaluation process by the task force.
Following the assessment by the task force – and provided the FIFA Council submits a designation – the decision on whether to select one of the two bidders to host the 2026 World Cup will be made by the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow June 13.
