PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s bid to host games in the 2026 World Cup tournament took another step forward on Tuesday. Officials from FIFA had an online meeting with the city's bid committee, one of a series soccer's governing body is holding with each of the 17 finalist cities as part of the selection process.
Bid committee chairman David Cohen says this one was about technical issues at the "match play venue" — in this case, Lincoln Financial Field: sight lines, turf, those sorts of concerns.
"I think one of the strengths of our bid is Lincoln Financial Field," Cohen said.
"Every question a FIFA expert had, the Eagles were able to respond, and we got the obligatory 'this was a very impressive performance' at the end of the meeting, so I think this was a good, strong meeting for team Philadelphia."
And Cohen says the committee used the opportunity to highlight the city's other assets.
"That begins with our big-event pedigree. We’ve done this before. We’ve done this successfully," Cohen said.
"We’re just an incredibly hospitable international city. We’ve hosted international soccer events at Lincoln Financial Field successfully. We have great hospitality infrastructure. We are incredibly friendly and walkable city."
Cohen says FIFA revamped the selection process for 2026 because of COVID-19. He says he expects more online meetings in the next few months, and FIFA will make one site visit. A decision on which 10 cities will share the tournament is expected late this year.