Vancouver is one of nine Canadian locations vying to be part of a joint bid by Canada, the US and Mexico to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
The United Bid Committee, which is co-ordinating North America's proposal, released its long-list of 46 potential host cities, including Vancouver, Toronto, New York and Los Angeles -- with a short-list due before next March and a final decision on the bid expected by June.
Soccer's FIFA World Cup takes place every four years and is the biggest sporting competition in the world -- nearly 3.5-million spectators travelled to Brazil to attend the 2014 event.
FIFA 2026 will be the first to feature an expanded field of 48 teams and, if the tournament is award to North America, 10 matches will be held in Canada, 10 in Mexico and all matches from the quarterfinals to the final would take place in the United States.
