Edmonton, Canada – November 17, 2021 – FIFA delegates are wrapping up their site evaluation as
part of Edmonton’s bid to become a host city for FIFA World Cup 2026TM.
Among several delegates representing FIFA is Vice-President and Concacaf President Victor
Montagliani, and Colin Smith, Chief Tournaments and Events Officer. The two were in attendance for
Tuesday’s game between Canada and Mexico at Commonwealth Stadium, which was played in front
of almost 50,000 fans.
Four different groups of around 30 delegates from FIFA were given tours based on three different
areas of expertise, including stadium infrastructure, FIFA Fanfest/marketing sites and team facilities.
The main delegation saw Commonwealth Stadium as part of the visit.
The site tour was a major undertaking by the City of Edmonton and Explore Edmonton along with
their stakeholders and partners with preparation occurring over the past several months.
“Hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026TM is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Edmonton to be a part of
the world’s biggest single sport event,” said City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Tim Cartmell. “Building
on our long history of delivering world class events, I’m confident Edmonton has the expertise,
experience and energy to help FIFA deliver an outstanding FIFA World Cup.”
“Our team at Explore Edmonton, along with our partners at the City of Edmonton, have been
working on these site evaluations for months,” said Explore Edmonton CEO Traci Bednard. “And this
past week leading up to the visit, it has been all hands-on deck to ensure no detail was missed and

that everything went smoothly. I could not be more proud to join Explore Edmonton and get a first-
hand look at what this team can accomplish in only my first few days on the job.”

If Edmonton is named a host city, the capital region could see more than 250,000 out of town
visitors, with an economic impact conservatively estimated at $600 million.
After the conclusion of the inspection tour, a thorough assessment will follow, and FIFA expects to
finalize the selection process by Q1/Q2 2022.

For more information, please contact:
Quinn Phillips – Strategic Communications

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