GUIDE TO THE BIDDING PROCESS FOR THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUPTM Foreword FIFA’s main purpose is – and must The process is as objective and be – to promote football; no mean transparent as it can get. feat when working with a game that This starts with the assessment of is already so universally loved. We are each bid. For this purpose, FIFA will here to unleash football’s full potential establish a 2026 Bid Evaluation Task everywhere and at all levels, to increase Force formed by experts from within participation. This is what the expansion the administration and from its standing of the FIFA World Cup is about. committees. Their appraisal of the Every day, there are more and more candidacies will be guided by clear countries producing top talent and and objective criteria – with a score organising football at an increasingly attributed to each specific component high level. By 2026, there will be even of the bid. more. With the chance of reaching This evaluation process will generate football’s greatest tournament now reports, which will serve as the basis higher, we expect to see development for a valuation by the FIFA Council. Our Gianni Infantino surge around the globe. We must use strategic body will study these reports Fatma Samoura FIFA President the positive influence of our crown and shortlist the bids that qualify to FIFA Secretary General jewel to foster the growth of football then be voted on by the FIFA Congress. from the very bottom of the pyramid. And that is how the final decision on However, the reach and the power the host or hosts of the 2026 FIFA of the FIFA World Cup come with a World Cup will be taken: in an open serious responsibility, one that this vote by our 211 member associations. administration has embraced from day Whoever ends up hosting the FIFA one. The process to select the host – or World Cup must prove that they know hosts – of the first 48-team FIFA World and have what it takes to deliver the Cup must not be open to even one tournament. Not only that, they must iota of doubt. It is FIFA’s responsibility also formally commit to conducting towards the world of football to their activities based on sustainable conduct these bidding and selection event management principles and to procedures in an ethical, transparent, respecting international human rights objective and unbiased way. and labour standards according to the By the time we announce who will host United Nations’ Guiding Principles. the 2026 FIFA World Cup, every football The FIFA World Cup is becoming more fan around the globe should be able to global. It will catch the eyes of the know why that choice has been made. world like never before. Our duty is For that, FIFA has reviewed and radically to ensure that these eyes look in the enhanced the mechanisms for selecting right direction; towards indisputably the venue of our showpiece event. deserving hosts. Content summary 1 The bidding process Key principles of the reformed bidding process An enhanced evaluation process Protecting the integrity of the bidding processs Timeline 2 The 2026 FIFA World Cup The first 48-team FIFA World Cup Slot allocation 3 Requirements for hosting 4 Government support 5 Sustainability and human rights 6 Documents 1 The bidding process In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be bigger than ever. More countries will participate – a total of 48 – and many, many more around the world will begin to dream of qualifying. An upgraded tournament deserves an impeccable process to determine which country or countries will host it. FIFA embraced that commitment and improved the bidding process, with a focus on a few indispensable elements profiled in the pages that follow. Key principles of the reformed bidding process Transparency Participation Every step of the bidding process is open to body is the result of an open voting process. The FIFA World Cup is global football’s most the public. The Bid Book content and the Moreover, the bidding process is governed by coveted prize and, as such, the decision- hosting requirements are all publicly available, significantly extended rules of conduct and, making process to determine the host(s) of as will be the evaluation reports for each for the first time, it will be scrutinised by an the tournament must be as broad and open candidature. Based on these reports, the FIFA independent audit company appointed by as possible. For the first time, it will be the Council will make a decision and shortlist FIFA. In other words, the football community FIFA Congress – the organisation’s supreme the bids that qualify to be voted by the FIFA knows what it takes to be chosen as the host legislative body, comprising representatives Congress. During this process, all individual of the FIFA World Cup, and why a choice has of all 211 member associations – that has a votes will be disclosed. been made. Not a single decision is guarded final vote on the venue of the competition, The final decision by FIFA’s supreme legislative away from public scrutiny. as per article 69 of the FIFA Statutes. Commitment to human rights and sustainability Objectivity A commitment to respect human rights is Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business The evaluation of bids must be as precise enshrined in article 3 of the FIFA Statutes and Human Rights. Based on this, FIFA also and unbiased as possible. For this purpose, and specified in the organisation’s Human requires the implementation of human rights FIFA has established a 2026 Bid Rights Policy. FIFA is fully committed to and labour standards by the bidding member Evaluation Task Force, whose assessment conducting its activities in connection associations, the government and other will be guided by clear and objective with hosting the FIFA World Cup based on entities involved in the organisation of the criteria (see “An enhanced evaluation sustainable event management principles – tournament, such as those responsible for process” below). This includes a process of in line with ISO 20121 – and to respecting the construction and renovation of stadiums, quantifying and rating the infrastructural international human rights and labour training sites, hotels and airports. and commercial aspects of each bid – with standards in accordance with the United failure to reach the minimum overall score, or even the minimum requirements in one of the key criteria, leading to exclusion. An enhanced evaluation process FIFA has developed the process through Bid Evaluation Report which bids are evaluated, by significantly The 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force will be improving the assessment mechanisms responsible for preparing a bid evaluation and by introducing two new additional report assessing each bid. This report will elements: comprise three key components: • 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force Analysing and assessing the different aspects of such a complex endeavour requires very specific knowledge in different areas, from the technical expertise to the legal and commercial implications involved. For the purpose of carrying out Compliance assessment Risk assessment Technical evaluation report this evaluation, FIFA will establish a group An assessment of the level of compliance of An assessment of the risks and benefits A technical assessment of each bid covering to be composed of certain members of each bid with: of each bid, including adverse human the key infrastructural and commercial the FIFA administration with the relevant - the requirements of the bidding process, rights impacts in connection with hosting components necessary to stage a successful expertise, the chairman of FIFA’s Audit and - FIFA’s hosting document templates, the competition, and a cost and revenue FIFA World Cup. This assessment will result Compliance Committee, the chairman - the hosting requirements for the projection. in scores (both for individual components of FIFA’s Governance Committee and a competition. and overall), calculated according to a member of the Organising Committee for points system established by FIFA. FIFA Competitions. • Independent audit company A representative of the appointed independent audit company will also act as an observer of the bid evaluation process and of the activities carried out by the 2026 Bid Evaluation Task Force. Qualified bids are submitted for evaluation by the FIFA Council. FIFA Council shortlists bids that qualify for final voting by the FIFA Congress. An enhanced evaluation process The technical evaluation report The key infrastructural and commercial components are: • Infrastructure Stadiums Facilities for teams Accommodation Transport and mobility IT&T and proposed location The proposed locations and referees (including airports) of the International for the staging of the Broadcasting Centre (IBC) FIFA Fan Fest™ • Commercial $ Predicted costs Estimated revenue from Estimated revenue from of the competition the sale of tickets and the sale of media and hospitality packages marketing rights The scores have a bearing on whether or not a bid qualifies for the next stage of the bidding process, with bids shortlisted by the FIFA Council. In order to be considered for the shortlist, a bid will have to achieve: 1 a minimum overall score; and 2 a minimum score in each of the following specific components: i. stadiums; ii. facilities for teams and referees; iii. accommodation and transport (due to the link between these two components, these will be assessed on a combined basis). An enhanced evaluation process The infrastructure and commercial criteria in the technical evaluation report will be Estimated revenue from the sale assessed based on the following weighting of media and marketing rights percentages: Infrastructure 10% (70% of overall score) Estimated revenue from the sale of tickets and Stadiums Commercial elements hospitality packages 35% (30% of overall score) 10% Predicted 10% organising costs 3% Proposed FIFA Fan Fest locations 7% 6% IT&T / proposed IBC location 6% Facilities for teams 13% and referees Accommodation Transport and mobility (incl.