Tuesday 11 April 2017 07:24, UK
The football associations of the United States, Canada and Mexico have announced their intention to submit a joint bid to host the 2026 World Cup.
The CONCACAF countries confirmed their plan to bring the tournament to America at a press conference on Monday at One World Trade Centre in New York.
US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, Mexico's Decio De Maria and Canada's Victor Montagliani announced the unified bid, which would represent the first time three nations jointly host a FIFA competition.
And no rival bid has yet emerged for the 2026 tournament, which is due to be awarded by FIFA in May 2020.
FIFA rules currently rule out bidders from Europe and Asia, because Russia is staging the World Cup in 2018 and Qatar will host the showpiece event in 2022.
The 2026 tournament will be the first to feature an expanded 48-nation field and the proposal will see the US host 60 games, with 10 each in Canada and Mexico.
North America last hosted the World Cup in 1994, when the USA staged a 24-team event which was won by Brazil, while Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, and Canada hosted the 2015 women's World Cup.
Montagliani said: "Canada has already proven itself as a formidable host for the world's game, setting FIFA records for attendance at the U19 Women's World Championship in 2002, the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2007, and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015.
"We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with fellow CONCACAF member associations under the FIFA Council principles for joint bids and to continue our tradition of hosting record-breaking international events."
US President Donald Trump has controversially promised to build a border wall between the USA and Mexico but Gulati said that President Trump is "supportive" of the bid and had "encouraged" it.
