By Andrew Warshaw
July 10 – CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb is targeting the 2026 World Cup after the United States missed out on hosting the event in 2022 when beaten to the punch by Qatar. Webb is hopeful he can harness enough support for the World Cup to be staged in his region for the first time since the USA hosted in 1994.
From now on, following the double ballot for 2018 and 2022, the entire FIFA membership will choose future hosts rather than the 24-strong executive committee.
Webb (pictured with CONCACAF general secretary Enrique Sanz), is currently attending CONCACAF’s blue riband event, the Gold Cup, and is understood to have held meetings with US Soccer president Sunil Gulati, along with Canadian and Mexican counterparts Victor Montagliani and Justino Compeán – the only three countries in the region who can realistically stage the World Cup – to discuss bringing it back to the confederation. Mexico hosted in 1970 and 1986 while Canada has never hosted but will stage the 2015 women’s World Cup.
Webb has made no secret of his disappointment at 2022 going to Qatar which beat the United States 14-8 in the final round of voting in December 2010. “For us I think it was unfair for our confederation to miss 2022,” he said. “It doesn’t matter for me – it’s 41 members – whether it’s the United States, Mexico or Canada.”
” I believe it’s so important for us as a confederation to host the World Cup in 2026. That will have been 32 years, which would have been the longest span since World War II that we have not hosted a World Cup as a confederation.”
FIFA used to award the World Cup by rotation but appeared to dispense with the process, temporarily at least, when it decided to persue new untapped markets – with CONCACAF the main fall guys, according to Webb.
“The biggest losers, for us, in the rotation, was CONCACAF,” said Webb. “The World Cup is taking place in Brazil because of the rotation. The World Cup took place in South Africa because of the rotation. We’re the biggest losers. For us it must be one of the top priorities for us going forward. We collectively must make an effort. We must decide, ultimately, that it doesn’t matter which country within CONCACAF hosts it. We’ve said it very clear from the outset, that 2026 must belong to [this] confederation.”
And Webb has made it clear that his confederation will only endorse a FIFA presidential candidate in 2015, when Sepp Blatter’s fourth term ends, who supports the region’s bid for 2026.
“It comes down to sports politics,” he was quoted as saying. “I’ll be very frank and very open…whoever the next president of FIFA becomes, for any support to come from CONCACAF, that must be one of the overarching objectives and commitments to this confederation, that 2026 will come to CONCACAF.”
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