Africa’s hope of hosting the FIFA World Cup soon after the 2010 edition in South Africa suffered severe setback in Russia, Wednesday, as Morocco lost the right to the joint bid by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
The ‘United 2026’ bid was selected by the football governing body’s member nations, winning 134 votes against Morocco’s 65.
The 2026 tournament will be the biggest World Cup ever- with 48 teams playing 80 matches over 34 days.
Celebrating the victory, US Soccer president, Carlos Cordeiro, said: “Football is the only victor. We are all united in football.”
He added: “Thank you so, so much for this incredible honour. Thank you for entrusting us with this privilege.”
Of the 211 FIFA member nations, 200 voted at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow on Wednesday, with the winning bid needing a majority of 104.
Canada, Mexico, Morocco and the US were exempt, while Ghana was absent after the country’s government said it had disbanded its football association amid allegations of “widespread” corruption.
Three US territories – Guam, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico – were among the other member nations not to vote.
Both Mexico (1970 and 1986) and the United States (1994) have previously hosted the global football fiesta.
The ‘United’ World Cup will generate $14bn (£10.3bn) in revenue and make an $11bn (£8.1bn) profit for FIFA, says Cordeiro.
Of the 16 host cities, 10 will be in the United States while the remainder will be split evenly between Canada and Mexico.
Sixty matches will take place in the US, while Canada and Mexico will host 10 games each.
The final will be held at the 84,953-capacity MetLife Stadium, which is home to NFL sides the New York Giants and the New York Jets.
The distance between the most northern host city (Edmonton) and the most southern (Mexico City) is almost 3,000 miles, which compares to 1,900 miles at this month’s tournament in Russia.
The tournament will mark the first time a World Cup has been shared by three host nations.
The 1994 World Cup, staged by the US, had the highest average attendance in the tournament’s history, while Mexico was the first nation to host the event twice.