PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia waited a year longer than it had expected, but Wednesday was the chance the city to state its case to host matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It did so by, as FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani appraised, “being who they are.”
That meant a receiving line of boisterous fans, mascots and the Eagles drumline lining the blocks around Lincoln Financial Field to welcome the international delegation. And it meant reinforcing the city’s history of successfully hosting major events.
“We couldn’t be more enthusiastic or excited about the prospect of hosting the World Cup in 2026,” Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said at a press conference. “We also couldn’t be more ready. Perhaps no city in the country has a better track record of hosting major events in past few years.”
Part of embracing that identity is as a bit of an underdog, against cities with larger populations or more central soccer cultures. But behind major events like the 2015 World Meeting of Families/Papal visit and the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the city is sure it’s ready.
Wednesday’s site visit included Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, as well as FIFA’s chief tournaments and events officer Colin Smith, plus representatives from U.S. Soccer. The one-day visit included a tour from Center City to the stadium complex, followed by presentations on the city’s technical capacity – as Philadelphia Soccer 2026’s incoming chair Daniel Hilferty called it, the “outstanding soccer infrastructure, a great hospitality region, a growing leadership team and a clear vision of what the legacy of hosting this event should be.” The delegation also toured the Linc.
Kenney invoked a four-point plan to attract the World Cup: The city’s welcoming track record, its diversity, a clear legacy of the World Cup’s visit on the community and the passion of sports fans in the city. That latter point came through loud and clear.
“At the end of the day, it’s not what sets you apart, it’s what you are,” Montagliani said. “You just need to be what you are. It’s no different than the game of football. When you take the field, you have to play to your DNA, and Philadelphia today, from the moment we started this morning, has shown your DNA.”
The 2026 World Cup, awarded jointly to the United States, Mexico and Canada, will be held in 16 venues, with two in Canada and three in Mexico. Seventeen American cities are vying for 11 spots: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York/New Jersey (Met Life Stadium), Orlando, San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium), Seattle, Washington (Landover Field) and Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is likely in the middle of the five-city Northeast Corridor pack. Met Life Stadium is a virtual lock; Boston’s bid is backed by Robert Kraft, who helped land the 2026 World Cup in North America and who hosted FIFA president Gianni Infantino for a Patriots game last week.
Separating itself won’t be easy. But FIFA has vowed increased transparency in site selection given the lack of it in landing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On technical merit, Philadelphia scores high. Hilferty, the retired Independence Health Group CEO who was named just last week as the new chair upon former chair David L. Cohen’s appointment to be the U.S. ambassador to Canada, is up for the challenge.
“Just be ourselves,” Hilferty said. “We differentiate ourselves from each of the other cities that are competing. I think the team from FIFA and US Soccer heard it clearly from our team today why Philadelphia is special, and we have a great deal of faith in the process, the technical scoring and the other scoring that is involved in making this selection. And we think that just by being ourselves, going with the great Philadelphia energy, showing the passion that we have for this type of event will position us very well.”
Smith and Montagliani’s retinue are visiting seven candidate cities this week; they’ll see the rest on tours in October and November. The aim is to announce winners by the first quarter of 2022, Smith said.
That would leave four years to get ready for World Cup games and the infusion of fans they bring. Philadelphia Soccer 2026 has no doubt that it is ready for that part.
“I hope they saw something very clearly,” Hilferty said. “We want this, and we are ready to deliver on every commitment and overdeliver whenever possible.”
