The World Cup is coming to the U.S. in 2026, but the company behind it might get there first.
FIFA is exploring moving its financial operations to a major U.S. city from its current headquarters in Zurich as it seeks to attract talent and distance itself from recent scandals.
Switzerland’s attorney general Michael Lauber resigned last year following revelations that he held improper, unrecorded meetings with FIFA president Gianni Infantino during an investigation of a scandal that forced out Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter.
In June, the global soccer organization opened a Paris office focused on relations with its 211 members.
- Ten U.S. cities will host the 2026 World Cup along with three each in Canada and Mexico.
- Houston Dynamo and Dash owner Ted Segal told FOS in August that he believes the global tournament will bring U.S. soccer a “step change in enthusiasm that accrues to the benefit of MLS and NWSL.”
- Soccer is the third-most popular sport in the U.S. among 6-24-year-olds, according to a study earlier this year by analytics firm Two Circles.
FIFA earned $6.4 billion in revenue from 2017 to 2020, over 70% of which came in the World Cup year of 2018.
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