The three-nation effort to bring the 2026 World Cup to North America took another small step Thursday by announcing that 41 cities, including Washington and Baltimore, have submitted bids to host the 80 soccer matches.
San Diego, Green Bay, Wis., and Calgary, were the only cities to drop out of contention after the United Bid Committee extended requests for information in July.
In addition, two potential Canadian locations narrowed their respective venue options to one: Toronto will champion MLS’s BMO Field because Rogers Centre is unavailable during the baseball season, and Montreal will propose Olympic Stadium instead of MLS’s Saputo Stadium, which is too small for World Cup matches.