iStock/Thinkstock(MANAMA, Bahrain) — The host of the next World Cup will be decided sooner than expected.
FIFA approved a plan to fast-track the bidding process that determines which country will host the 2026 World Cup. An overwhelming majority of its more than 200 members voted Thursday in favor of this decision during its FIFA Congress in Bahrain.
The host country will be selected on June 13, 2018, two years earlier than previously scheduled.
Countries will have until August 11 of this year to express interest in hosting. They must meet a list of FIFA’s technical specifications by March 2018.
The United States, Canada and Mexico announced a joint bid last month. If the three-nation deal is approved, it would be the first time the tournament was co-hosted by multiple countries since 2002, when South Korea and Japan teamed up.
The United States last hosted the World Cup in 1994.
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