Delegates from international soccer's governing body FIFA voted Wednesday at their congress in Moscow to select the joint¹ North American bid, a day before this year's World Cup kicks off in Russia.

 

在俄罗斯世界杯开幕的前一天，国际足联代表13日在莫斯科开会，投票选中北美三国的联合申办方案。

 

The so-called united bid convincingly beat another put forward by Morocco, receiving 135 of 206 votes against 65 for the North African country.

 

The North American bid had been the favorite. A FIFA inspection² commission in April gave it a considerably³ higher score in an evaluation⁴ report than Morocco, noting the extensive infrastructure⁵ already in place in the three countries, compared to Morocco, which would have had to construct or renovate⁶ all its stadiums and build large amounts of accommodation and transport.

 

The FIFA inspectors⁷ had deemed Morocco a "high risk" choice, describing the two bids as "almost at opposite ends of the spectrum⁸."

 

The 2026 Cup will be the first of an expanded tournament that will include 48 teams instead of 32, putting considerably more burden on the host country. Morocco had said it would need to spend $16 billion on infrastructure for the competition, including on 14 stadiums, whereas only six of North American stadiums need refurbishment.

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