FIFA Postpones 2026 World Cup Bidding

In the wake of FIFA’s leadership being nuked from orbit, the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup has been put on hold. ( FIFA’s official statement benignly attributes the delay “due to the current situation.” Subtext: a whole bunch of the people scheduled to vote on awarding the tournament are probably going to be in jail by then.)

FIFA was set to push out bidding instructions and a timeline to its member nations later this week, but that’s postponed indefinitely. Secretary general Jerome Valcke, now the most powerful man in FIFA but also under investigation for his own role in corrupt World Cup bidding, says it would be “nonsense” to proceed now.

Mexico and Canada have officially announced their intentions to bid for the 2026 World Cup, with potential bids from the United States, Morocco, Colombia, Kazakhstan, and a joint Australia-New Zealand bid in the offing. Earlier this spring, England expressed interest in trying to land the tournament, but “we don’t bid while Mr. Blatter’s there.”