MIAMI – Soccer fans, it’s the hot topic of the week because, for the first time, Miami will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Miami was selected as one of 11 host cities in the United States.
Miami-Dade County is expecting hundreds of thousands of people will travel to Miami for the games.
And with that many visitors, comes millions and millions of dollars in revenue.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the World Cup may just be the largest party Miami’s ever thrown.
“Gooooal,” yelled Mayor Suarez.
The excitement was felt around the city as Miami was officially announced last night to host the World Cup.
“I was cheering so much, I felt like I played a game,” said Suarez.
The enthusiasm is still going strong today.
Suarez said the World Cup solidifies Miami as an international epicenter of sports and culture.
“The excitement is going to be palpable; it’s going to be tangible; it’s going to infect the city,” Suarez said.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava says plans are already in the works to prepare Miami-Dade County for the World Cup.
“We’re already working on airport infrastructure which is very well prepared for big influx. We know that traffic is sometimes on people’s minds so we’re going to put together a plan of how to flow people in and out of this venue to minimize disruption,” said Levine-Cava.
She thinks the event could bring even more people to the Sunshine State.
“It’s going to be an investment; it’s going to be our infrastructure. It’s going to be just like what they saw in the pandemic. People saw that they could come here and enjoy the sun and fun and have a life here and that’s what’s going to happen with this as well,” said Levine-Cava.
Miami Dolphins CEO, Tom Garfinkel said the vision for Hard Rock Stadium was always for it to be a global entertainment destination.
Now that vision is playing out.
“The economic impact of Formula 1, World Cup, keeping Miami Open, Super Bowl’s, all the things that are a result of that. There are a lot of people benefitting from that,” said Garfinkel.
The economic impact will be massive, and Suarez says all parts of the county will benefit.
“The way we do things as a community is we do it together. The event may be here but we activate all parts of the county so everyone can benefit,” explained Suarez.
It hasn’t been decided yet how many games will be played in Miami or which venues they’ll be in. We’ll keep you posted!