FIFA Council set to back North American 2026 World Cup bid

The proposal before congress from the three North American federations calls for a "principle decision" in favor of their bid and says they will aim to "satisfy the technical bid requirements by March 31, 2018".

Should those requirements be met, as those behind the bid believe they will be, the proposal calls for a final ratification at the 2018 FIFA Congress.

The approach is significantly faster than FIFA's original schedule of a bidding process concluding in 2020.

The three-nation bid already has plans in place to move quickly on creating a more formal structure as soon as they get the green light from FIFA's membership.

So far no rival bid for 2026 has emerged although there have been reports that Morocco could join the race.

The 2018 tournament will be held in Russia with Qatar hosting the finals in 2022.

FIFA's current rotation policy states that the continental confederation which held the previous two events cannot bid, ruling Europe and Asia out of the 2026 running.

FIFA have also voted to expand the World Cup to 48 teams for the 2026 edition, requiring more facilities to handle the increase to 80 games while also opening the door to joint bids.

The North American proposal is for 60 games in the US with Mexico and Canada each getting 10 early stage matches.

Reuters