Mexico eyes record with 2026 World Cup bid
21 Sep 2012
Mexican Football Federation (FMF) president Justino Compean has stated the country will bid for a record-breaking third FIFA World Cup in 2026, but has warned it faces strong competition from the United States.
After hosting the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, a successful bid for the 2026 tournament would make Mexico the first country to stage FIFA’s showpiece event three times. “Mexico was a great host in ’70 and ’86, so we are indeed going to fight (for the right), we want to have a World Cup (again), there will be a strong competition with the United States,” said Compean, according to Reuters. “Mexico’s football infrastructure keeps growing and that World Cup can be feasible for Mexico.”
Mexico is one of four countries to have hosted the World Cup on two occasions, along with Italy (1934 and 1990), France (1938 and 1998) and Germany (1974, as West Germany, and 2006). “FIFA is always more demanding with all the structures that are needed,” said Compean. “The great competitor (for 2026) is the United States, which has great resources, great stadiums, triple the population we have and all that counts.”
The United States hosted its first World Cup in 1994 and Compean stated defeat to its neighbour for 2026 would still have benefits for Mexico. “Assuming the United States were to get the (2026) World Cup, we would still win because on a sporting level we wouldn’t have to face each other in the qualifiers,” he added. “We’re three hours from the border and we have millions of nationals living on the other side so we’d be playing as a home team.”
