FIFA World Cup coming to Philadelphia in 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to Philadelphia.

The City of Brotherly Love was one of the cities announced as venues for the World Cup in 2026 on Thursday. Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly will host the games.

Sixteen bids were awarded for the men’s cup being staged in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The successful bids were announced by region.

• West - Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Guadalajara
• Central - Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City
• East - Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York/New Jersey

The cities that didn’t make the cut were Denver, Baltimore/DC, Nashville, Cincinnati, Orlando and Edmonton.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first with an expanded format of 48 teams, up from the traditional 32 teams that will compete at Qatar 2022 kicking off this November. The format will include 16 three-team groups.

Fans packed LOVE Park in downtown Philadelphia on Thursday to await the news, which was the exclamation point on a lengthy process to bring the world’s biggest sporting event to the city in a summer that will also mark the 250th birthday of American Independence.

The Philadelphia Phillies will also be hosting the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July 2026.