David Beckham calls for Las Vegas to host the 2026 World Cup

Las Vegas is currently not down as one of the venues to host the 2026 World Cup in the United States. Surprisingly, Allegiant Stadium was left aside by world football’s governing body, with Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle as the cities chosen.

Despite this, Inter Miami owner David Beckham is not giving up hope that the city will have at least one game in the tournament in the United States in 2026.

“To be honest, I’m personally excited because the last World Cup was such a huge success,” Beckham said. “I’m obviously excited around World Cup year but I think it’s another moment, especially after being an owner of a MLS team.

“The lead up to this World Cup [in America, Canada and Mexico] I think is going to be really exciting and it’s going to be showcased in the way it should be showcased. So, I’m personally excited.

“Obviously, Las Vegas gets to host one of the games, who knows... But if it does, then I think it’s going to be spectacular.”

Beckham was present at the Las Vegas Grand Prix which took place early on Sunday morning, and believes the organisation was a success beyond the problems that arose during Thursday night’s practice.

“Obviously, to host a major, one of the biggest sporting events in the world... here in Las Vegas... I think it’s exciting. And you know, a night race is always special, and I think, so far, from what I’ve seen, they’ve done a great job.

“We hope the drivers and the teams are happy, which is the most important thing.

“I always get excited around these events,” added Beckham. “And I’m a big fan of F1.”

Could Las Vegas host World Cup games?

Problems with the capacity of SoFi Stadium, as well as the relationship between Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles venue, and FIFA over the financial distribution between the cities hosting the tournament, mean it will be a challenge for the city to host games at the tournament.

Although Allegiant Stadium currently has similar problems to SoFi Stadium, Steve Hill, chairman of the Las Vegas stadium’s board of directors, acknowledged that they are willing to expand the stadium in order to convince FIFA.

With a capacity of 65,000, Las Vegas meets the requirements to host a World Cup game and has already hosted the Gold Cup final in 2021 and the CONCACAF Nations League in 2023. It will also host Super Bowl LVIII.