CITY OF MEXICO (apro).- FIFA issued on Wednesday the "Guide on the selection of the organizer of the 2026 World Cup," with the idea of designating the World Cup venue "with the greatest impartiality and transparency."
So far, Mexico, the United States, and Canada, in a joint bid, and Morocco, on their own, have officially declared their interest in hosting the 2026 edition of the World Cup, whose venue will be designated in May 2020.
Even FIFA does not rule out declining the aforementioned bids in case of no selection.
To do so, the organization would invite the rest of the federations to present their proposals, in which those who participated in the previous process will not be allowed.
For the organization, a World Cup whose number of participating teams will rise to 48 from 2026 onwards, "requires a flawless process."
The congress, the highest authority of the organization, will resolve next June 13 - prior to the inauguration of the 2018 Russia World Cup, if it chooses any of the bids. Before that, FIFA will make a shortlist of the candidates.
The deadline to submit bids closes on Thursday, this month.
Then, the stage of preparing new projects will extend to the third quarter of 2019. After that, the evaluation phase will come in the second quarter of 2020.
Finally, the congress will choose the host of the 2026 World Cup in May 2020.