World Cup 2026: New York and New Jersey promise ‘8 Super Bowls’

New York and New Jersey intensify their bid to host the 2026 final World Cup by promising a show on par with “eight Super Bowls” at a launch event Thursday for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino gave no indication as to which of the three host cities would host the final when the venues were announced last year.

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Neighboring states, which will welcome fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, face stiff competition from Los Angeles, whose $5.5 billion indoor/outdoor SoFi Stadium in Inglewood holds further appeal. razzmatazz.

“We want to host the final. There’s no better place to host the final than MetLife Stadium,” said retired NFL great Michael Strahan, who became famous with the New York Giants but has now fallen in love with football.

“This is football, okay? What I did was have guys running around in tight pants bump into each other.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who was joined at the Times Square launch by New York Mayor Eric Adams, promised a spectacle beyond anything the region has seen before.

The venue, then known as Giants Stadium, hosted seven World Cup matches in 1994 and four during the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

“We think we’re going to have at least eight games, that’s eight Super Bowls,” Murphy said.

“Everyone will be sold out, I guarantee it. It doesn’t matter who’s playing.”

The launch event was one of several in host cities across the continent on Thursday, a day after Los Angeles launched the “WE ARE 26” campaign to promote the tournament.

Infantino declined to comment on whether Los Angeles hosting the brand’s launch meant it would host the 2026 World Cup final.

“Of course Los Angeles is an important city, it is one of the 16 [host] cities,” he said.

“But, obviously, it’s a center. It’s an entry center in America. It’s the city where the final of the last World Cup was also played in the United States. We still don’t know where the final of this World Cup will be played.” The Cup will be played. This is still in play, so to speak. So please send us your offers and be sure to reinforce the proposals, but Los Angeles will be one of the important cities of this World Cup, definitely.”

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani added that they would “probably have an announcement later in the year” regarding the location of the final.