MIAMI, Feb 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The 2026 World Cup final will be held at

MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey, organisers FIFA announced on Sunday.

The New York bid held off a strong challenge from Dallas to secure the July
19 game, the culmination of the expanded 48-team tournament being co-hosted
by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The competition will kickoff with the opening game at Mexico City's iconic
Azteca Stadium on June 11.

Atlanta and Dallas will host the semi-finals while the third-place game will
be played in Miami.

The quarter-final games will take place in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami
and Boston.

A total of 16 cities across the three countries will host games with the bulk
of the matches being held in the USA.

The 1994 World Cup was also held in the United States and the final took
place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, near Los Angeles.

New York hosted games at that tournament at the old Giants Stadium, which was
later demolished to make way for MetLife, which opened in 2010.

The decisions were announced on a live television broadcast in North America
that featured FIFA president Gianni Infantino alongside comedian and actor
Kevin Hart, rapper Drake and celebrity Kim Kardashian.

The 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium, across the Hudson River from New York in
East Rutherford, New Jersey, is the home of the NFL's New York Giants and New
York Jets but has held a number of international football games, including
the final of the 2016 Copa America tournament.

The New York bid had lobbied hard on the city's experience at hosting major
international events and it's position as a global city with easy
transportation connections for fans.

Dallas had hoped that AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, home to the NFL's
Dallas Cowboys, would benefit from having a roof to protect the game from the
elements.

There is some compensation for Dallas with the venue being given nine total
games -- the most of any venue.

Los Angeles had also thrown a hat into the ring but the attempt struggled
amid disagreements with FIFA about tournament upgrades needed to NFL venue
SoFi Stadium.

The Azteca will become the first stadium to host World Cup tournament games
in three separate editions after 1970 and 1986.

The venue hosted the finals of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments.

The World Cup will take place during celebrations of the 250th anniversary of
American independence.

A round-of-16 game will be held on July 4, Independence Day, in Philadelphia,
where the US Declaration of Independence was signed.

The United States will kick off group stage competition at SoFi Stadium in
Los Angeles on June 12 and will also play in Seattle.

Toronto was selected to host the first game for the Canadian team. Vancouver
is the other Canadian venue which will host the squad.

The expansion of the tournament to 48 teams from 32 means there will be an
additional 24 matches, making up a total of 104 games across the 16 already
chosen venues.

The tournament will take the format of 12 groups of four teams with the top
two going through along with the eight best third-placed teams.

From there, the competition is a straight knock-out format with the finalists
having to play eight games rather than the previous seven.

The 16 host cities for the tournament are: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas,
Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami,
Monterrey, New York-New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area,
Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.