FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the match schedule for the 2026 World Cup in Washington DC on Sat Dec 6, 2025 (AP News photo)

2026 FIFA World Cup is a Win Win for the United States

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

For the second time in history, the FIFA World Cup will be held in the United States. The first time was 1994. As a Sports Anchor/Reporter for Telemundo 48 San José, it was a privilege to cover the 1994 US World Cup, a truly spectacular event unique in the world, in the final match, in which Brazil beat Italy 3-2 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in a penalty shootout to win it all.

The 1994 World Cup was the most financially successful in history and set attendance records that have yet to be broken, but will be broken this next year, and again here in the US. I will explain further in this article. It was an unforgettable event.

At that time, the 1994 US World Cup (Fútbol, Soccer) was not very popular in the US. At Telemundo 48 in San José, I used to get lots of calls from people in the Bay Area asking me to give scores on the air of many regular Fútbol games in Latin American Pro-Fútbol leagues, which came from México to Argentina, to Europe, and other countries.

Most of the people who called us at Telemundo 48 in San José were not Hispanics, but they were real Fútbol fans. Stations here in the Bay Area, affiliates of ABC, CBS, and NBC (non-Spanish speaking stations), did not report on any soccer games in the US or around the world.

In 1994, Soccer in the US didn’t rank high as a sport. But 30 years later, this international sport has grown in popularity in the United States.. During that USA ’94 World Cup, my good friend Tony López, who was Sport Anchor for Univisión CH 14 San Francisco, and yours truly at Telemundo 48, were able to interview the greatest and most famous Fútbol player ever, the great Pelé, is full name; Edson Arantes de Nascimento, a Brazilian national treasure, and basically the Babe Ruth of Fútbol.

He was traveling with Brazil as a World Ambassador of the sport. Although our stations were competitors, Tony and I have been good friends to this day, 31 years after that great event. It was an excellent experience for me to cover that World Cup.

The Bay Area (San Francisco/Palo Alto) hosted six games at Stanford Stadium during the 1994 World Cup, including group matches for Brazil, Sweden, Cameroon, Russia, Colombia, Romania, and the USA. I have a great picture with Pelé here at home that I am still trying to find and download to my computer, and I hope I can find it before the next World Cup to write about this extraordinary man, Pelé.

This 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the greatest, not only because it is one of the most significant sporting events in the world, but also because it is the only other sporting event that brings this much international interest, besides the Olympics.

It will be hosted by 16 cities, 16 in North America, 11 in the US, 3 in México, and 2 in Canada. Of all the countries in the world, the US is the one with the largest population, is diverse and rich, and is uniquely qualified for this event.

Estimates by FIFA and the United States suggest over $30 billion in economic output, creating thousands of jobs, especially from international visitors, plus the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first with 48 teams/countries.

The last 2022 FIFA World Cup had close to 5 billion fans who watched in some form or another. Only the Olympics come close to that global viewership. These are the favorites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup; Spain, England, France and Brazil.

The US is not considered a serious contender, with odds of 80 to 1,after the recent draw which translates to a 2% chance. Fútbol/Soccer originated in England. The first official rules were drafted in 1863 by Ebenezer Cobb Morley, who is credited as the “father of soccer” when he formed the English Football Association (FA) FIFA means: Fédération Internationale de Football (French) Federación Internacional de Fútbol Asociado (Spanish) International Federation of Association Football (English) US Host Cities for the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco/Bay Area

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

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