Canada, Mexico and the United States won their joint bid to host the 2026 football World Cup after beating a rival bid from Morocco in a vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow on Wednesday.
The joint bid, branded United 2026, won 134 out of the total 203 votes, meeting the criteria of a simple majority for the winner during the annual FIFA conference, held on the eve of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
A total of 210 members were present at the Congress, but seven abstained from voting: the four countries directly involved (USA, Canada, Mexico and Morocco) and three US-governed territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Morocco collected 65 votes, while one voted for neither and three votes were void.
It is the first time that football's flagship tournament will be hosted by three nations, with the majority of games to be held in the United States.
The United States previously hosted the World Cup in 1994 while Mexico staged the event in 1970 and 1986. It is the first time that the competition will be played in Canada.
The 2026 World Cup will involve an expanded format, with 48 teams contesting a total of 80 matches, compared to the 32 teams and 64 matches of the upcoming World Cup in Russia.