HOUSTON - Five Super Bowls in a month -- that’s what Harris County-Houston Sports Authority is expecting if Houston hosts World Cup soccer in 2026.
The group, who helped bring in Super Bowl LI in 2017, says it is confident the city’s infrastructure is in a good place. However, it might take more to wrangle the World Cup.
“World Cup rallying cry starts now and so every match is important,” said Doug Hall, Harris County Houston Sports Authority Vice President. “That’s the message we’re trying to sell.”
FIFA won’t decide which of the remaining 17 cities will fill 10 available World Cup host slots for anther two years.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to convince the decision makers at FIFA if we’re going to get one of those ten slots,” Hall said.
In Hall’s opinion, of the 17 cities still in the running, seven are guaranteed to get one of 10 slots: New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington D.C., Miami and San Francisco. Leaving Houston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Boston, Kansas City, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia and Seattle.
“Houston is not a lock,” Hall said. “You don’t just say, 'I want (the) World Cup.' You’ve got to prove it, and that’s by coming to support all soccer events all the time within reason.”
Hall believes Houston’s passion for soccer will separate our city from others. Supporting events like next Friday’s match between Mexico and Uruguay will make Houston a lock for World Cup 2026. FIFA is expected to make final host city decisions as early as the summer of 2020.
