Oceania backs U.S.-Canada-Mexico bid for 2026 World Cup

SPORTS

Oceania backs North American bid for 2026 World Cup

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, April 18, 2017 12:16PM EDT

A World Cup soccer trophy is on display during the exclusive preview of the FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich, Switzerland on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. (Ennio Leanza / Keystone)

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand - The United States, Canada and Mexico bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup is supported by the 11-nation Oceania soccer confederation.

Oceania says it also agrees the bid should have "an exclusive period of negotiation" with FIFA for the next year.

The 211 FIFA member federations can decide on May 11 to give the North American neighbours a March 2018 deadline without rivals to show their bid is technically sound.

The bid launched this month is currently FIFA's only realistic option for the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026. FIFA rules bar European and Asian members from bidding.

Oceania's FIFA vice-president, David Chung, says "it makes sense on a rotational basis" for the 2026 edition to return to North America for the first time since the U.S.-hosted 1994 tournament.