LA might not bid for the 2026 World Cup after all

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that city leaders don’t agree on whether LA should host the 2026 World Cup.

A representative for City Council President Herb Wesson Jr. told the Times on Thursday—an important deadline for potential host cities—that elements of the contract with Fédération Internationale de Football Association, which oversees the World Cup, didn’t make “financial sense” for the city.

But later that day, Mayor Eric Garcetti told the Times he was asking the United Bid Commitee for more time to consider making a bid.

The United Bid Committee, made up of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., would represent the three countries’ shared effort to bid for the major soccer event. The trio of nations is up against Morocco.

If the trio of nations is selected, they would be on the hook to host 80 soccer games in a roughly month-long period. 32 cities across all three countries are potential sites for the games, and at least 12 cities would host one or more events.

It would be “inconceivable” if some of those matches were not be held in the LA area, former US Soccer president Alan Rothenberg told the a city council committee in January.

• L.A. City Council has contradicting plans on bid for 2026 World Cup [LA Times]
• LA is preparing to bid for 2026 World Cup [Curbed LA]