One of the biggest sporting events on the planet is coming to Toronto.
FIFA has announced that the city has been selected as one of 16 places for the 2026 World Cup, ending a one-month process in which officials visit 22 different candidate cities.
Vancouver was the only other Canadian city chosen to host the Games. Edmonton, which was included in the short list of potential hosting sites, did not qualify.
Other host cities include Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York / New Jersey, as well as Monterey, Guadalajara and Mexico City.
READ MORE: FIFA selects cities for the 2026 World Cup, predicts “No. 1 sport ‘
In a video message delivered as part of the FIFA broadcast, Mayor John Torrey welcomed the news, noting that “this global city is ready to meet the global game” and “will do it right”.
“Toronto is ready and ready to meet the world,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Torrey called Thursday’s election an “exciting day” for the city.
“I think it’s going to be great for the game. It’s going to be great for the city, it’s going to be great for the economy,” Torrey said. It will be great for the spirit of the city.
Torrey noted that hosting the four-year tournament will give the city the opportunity to build “legacy projects” that will help develop football.
“So it’s not about a few football games that end after that. As important as they are and as much as the whole world looks at it, it’s about what you leave behind. And some of them have to do with the game itself and make sure that after the World Cup we have even better facilities than today, “said the mayor.
Former Canadian football fan and Scarborough-born Dwayne De Rosario also reacted to the news as he spoke to CP24 at a Real Sports viewing party, calling it “surreal”.
“As a grown child in the city, it was just football, it was just football. And many of us, first generation Canadians and many of us immigrants, we have brought this passion and love to the sport and it has finally come to the fore, with the help of the World Cup coming to Canada and with the help of our national A team is doing so well, “he said.” It’s just amazing and you know what a hockey country Canada can be, but we can also be a football country. “
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he could not wait for the matches to start.
It’s official: #FIFAWorldCup 2026 is coming to Vancouver and Toronto! This is the first time in history that Canada will host matches for the World Cup – and like many of you, I can’t wait for the matches to start.
– Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 16, 2022
Officials have previously said the United States is likely to host 60 games during the expanded tournament with 48 teams, while Canada and Mexico will host 10 games each.
The exact breakdown of the games between the two Canadian hosts is not immediately clear.
In Toronto, the World Cup matches will be played on BMO Field. The seat currently has a capacity of 30,000 for football, but authorities hope to increase capacity to at least 45,000 by using temporary seating. This is the minimum number of seats required by FIFA.
Confirmation that Toronto will indeed host some of the world’s greatest footballers comes just hours after the city released a one-minute video promoting the city’s diversity and making it a natural host for one of the world’s greatest footballers. – watched sports events.
The video included footage from some of Toronto’s biggest events, from the Caribbean Carnival to the Raptors Championship Parade with the following motif:
“We are a place that welcomes you and celebrates what you are, because in essence it is us. Everyone here. Every continent. Everything in Toronto, the world stage and the perfect place to host the World Cup. ”
The event will cost taxpayers nearly $ 300 million
Toronto World Cup matches will cost taxpayers approximately $ 290 million, with provincial and federal governments expected to take approximately two-thirds of the bill.
That’s a big increase from the $ 30 million to $ 45 million estimate provided by city staff in 2018, when Toronto first expressed interest in hosting games.
However, the economic impact of the event can be significant.
City officials have estimated that the tournament will bring in $ 307 million in GDP in Toronto, including the creation of 3,300 jobs.
It is also expected to bring 174,000 overnight stays to the city and create 3,300 jobs.
“This will put Toronto on the map,” Tori told reporters in April. “This is the biggest sporting event in the world, and I think to be a part of it, I think the vast majority of people in Toronto will be excited about it and see the business in it.”
As the host city, Toronto will be responsible for hosting a fan festival at an estimated cost of more than $ 17 million. In addition, it will spend approximately $ 41.2 million to build training facilities for visiting teams.
Capital work at BMO Field is likely to begin sometime in 2024, according to city officials.
Torrey said Thursday that the city will get its money back.
“The World Cup will produce just as much, if not more, people spread over a longer period of time. It will fill every hotel room, every restaurant will be full, all businesses will see people from all over the world come to buy things here. The city itself will be excited about all the work, “the mayor said.
“So I am confident that we will have strong partnerships with other governments to make this a great success. It will be good for Canada and good for Toronto.
With audiences around the world, Tori said the World Cup would also be a way for Toronto to show itself and what it has to offer to millions.
“We need smart people. We need ambitious people who come to live here and invest here and create jobs here,” he said.
“It’s as much about the economy as it is about sports and our opportunity to build this city in terms of what already has a good reputation, to make it a great reputation and to get the best in the world to come and live and live. invest here, which I think is the best place they can come in the world to do business. “
Ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Finance Minister Christie Freeland was asked about federal support for the cities that will host the Games, and said: “Let’s wait and talk about this until we find out what the solution is.”
“But I want to tell all Canadians, and well, I’m a Toronto MP, a Toronto MP, that’s very exciting.”
This is the first time the FIFA Men’s World Cup will be held in Canada.
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