RECAP: United 2026 Bid Technical Tour Day 3 - Toronto
On Thursday, the FIFA 2026 World Cup Bid Evaluation Task Force toured venues in Toronto as part of its four-day assessment of North America's United 2026 FIFA World Cup bid.
Having already visited Mexico City and Atlanta, FIFA’s 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force continued its technical tour of the United Bid of Canada, Mexico, and the United States on Thursday with a visit to Toronto—the third of four United Bid Candidate Host Cities that the Task Force will visit and evaluate during their trip.
The Task Force met this morning for its daily briefing, before departing for a tour of Nathan Phillips Square, one of Canada’s largest public squares and a proposed FIFA Fan Fest™ site. The Square is a national and provincial landmark, having also hosted the Closing Ceremonies of the 2015 Parapan American Games.
#NathanPhillipsSquare is one of Canada’s largest public squares and a national and provincial landmark. Like the rest of Canada, it’s ready to welcome the world. #FIFATour2026 #Opportunity2026 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/IW9vg15qVM
— United 2026 (@united2026) April 12, 2018
Following the tour of Nathan Phillips Square, the Task Force then visited the BMO Training Ground—the training facility of Major League Soccer’s 2017-18 Champion, Toronto Football Club, or Toronto FC.
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BMO Field, designed specifically for Toronto FC and recognized as Canada’s national football stadium, was the final stop on the day’s tour. Since opening in 2007, the stadium has been a host to a number of major football events including the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2007™, FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2014™, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the MLS Cup Final in 2010, 2016, and 2017.
UNITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND CERTAINTY IN FOCUS
The United Bid is committed to embracing the concept of global unity in a real and tangible way—to demonstrate that three proud countries, connected through history, culture, geography, and partnership, can celebrate football’s ability to inspire people around the world. Today’s visit in Toronto—one of the United Bid’s 23 qualified Candidate Host Cities—embodied these principles:
- UNITY—The United Bid’s vision of “Unity in Diversity” is reflected in the reality of Toronto. The city’s population hails from 170 countries and speaks more than 140 languages and dialects. Toronto thrives on diversity, and that message is embodied in the city’s Coat of Arms: Diversity Our Strength. The visitor experience at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be rooted in a feeling that Toronto is “United” with FIFA World Cup™ visitors and athletes.
- OPPORTUNITY—Toronto will contribute towards the prosperity, growth, and enthusiasm of the entire global football community and beyond, through staging an incredibly successful 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Canada is already considered a leader in women’s football and was the only FIFA Member Association to medal at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. More than a dozen times since the 1970’s, Toronto has hosted the largest Canadian football crowd of the year, including the 2017 MLS Cup which drew a capacity crowd of 30,584 at BMO Field.
- CERTAINTY—The Places Rated Almanac ranks Toronto as the safest large metropolitan area in North America. The city has a great deal of experience hosting both sporting events and visitors—Toronto welcomed 41.9 million tourists in 2016, and is home to national tournaments, international sporting competitions, and entertainment each year. A city well versed in transporting visitors, Toronto has North America’s 3rd largest public transit system (after New York City and Mexico City).
FIFA’s 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force departs Toronto on Thursday night and heads to New York / New Jersey for the final stop of the four-day tour. See below for a full schedule of FIFA’s 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force and check back to ussoccer.com each day this week four daily recaps of the tour.
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FIFA 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force Tour Schedule |
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April 9-10 |
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April 10-11 |
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April 11-12 |
Toronto |
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April 12-13 |
New York / New Jersey |