Nearly 50 senators sign bipartisan letter asking Trump to support joint U.S.-Mexico-Canada bid for 2026 World Cup

(Image credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)

published 21 February 2018

It seems there are some fans of the world's most beautiful game lurking on Capitol Hill.

On Wednesday, a group of nearly 50 senators sent a letter to President Trump asking him to support an effort for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to jointly host the FIFA 2026 World Cup. In the letter, the bipartisan group wrote that the so-called "United Bid" is "an exceptional opportunity to showcase our nations' shared passions for soccer" and praised soccer's "positive impact on our local communities and on the international stage."

The joint North American bid is expected to include at least 12 cities across the three countries, and the senators wrote that "[dozens] of U.S. cities that we represent have conveyed their interest in being part of the United Bid." The 2026 World Cup will expand from a 32-team bracket to a 48-team bracket, which the website for the United Bid notes "will require world-class facilities and infrastructure to ensure a successful tournament."

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Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.

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