Nashville doesn't make the list of World Cup cities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Nashville will not host the World Cup in 2026, bringing a disappointing end to a decade-long pursuit spanning four mayors.
- FIFA announced the cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that will host the global phenomenon Wednesday.
Driving the news: Sixteen cities were selected to host the tournament, which is a major international tourism draw that generates tens of millions of dollars in visitor spending.
- The central region host cities will be Kansas City, Missouri; Houston; Dallas; and Atlanta.
Context: Nashville missed out on a bid at the same time Mayor John Cooper and the Tennessee Titans are negotiating a financing plan to build a new stadium in East Nashville.
- Based on the current timeline, a new stadium would have been completed in 2026, which generated questions from FIFA decision-makers about the city's bandwidth to host the tournament.
The intrigue: Cooper, along with Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. CEO Butch Spyridon, addressed FIFA's questions in recent months. Cooper assured decision-makers that Nashville was all in on bringing the World Cup here.
- Music City has established itself as a soccer town, with excellent attendance at Nashville SC games. But the recently opened Geodis Park isn't big enough to accommodate World Cup crowds.
What they're saying: "While we are deeply disappointed, we've known since the beginning that we were a long shot. You never know what goes into these final decisions, but we are very appreciative to FIFA for the opportunity to compete," Spyridon said in a press release.