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Will Boston Host 2026 World Cup Games?

North America has been picked to host the 2026 World Cup — and now speculation has begun about which 16 cities in America, Canada and Mexico will host the games.

Boston — and by extension, Foxborough's Gillette Stadium — was among the 23 cities listed by the North American bid committee in the FIFA bid.

At a Wednesday news conference at Gillette Stadium, Boston 2026 Bid Chair and New England Revolution President Brian Bilello said that it will be about two years until FIFA decides on the specific host stadiums, but the Boston area is a prime candidate.

"The venue exists, the transportation, the infrastructure exists, the airport exists, the hotels exists," Bilello said. "From the big picture standpoint, this is going to be a relatively easy and low-cost event to bring to North America and to bring to Boston"

New York City, Washington, Mexico City, Toronto, Los Angeles, Dallas and Seattle are also among the 23 cities that will be considered for the selection process.

The final 16 city selections will be announced sometime in 2020 or 2021, but New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is the North American bid committee's honorary chairman.

It also wouldn't be the first time the international community came to Gillette. The stadium, then known as Foxboro Stadium, was one of nine U.S. venues to host World Cup games in 1994.

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