ZURICH (AFP) - The United States, Mexico and Canada's bid for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday invited 44 cities across the three nations to declare an interest in staging games at the football extravaganza, a statement said.
A total of 49 stadiums in the candidate cities have been considered for inclusion in the official World Cup bid which will be submitted to FIFA by March 16, 2018.
The joint North American bid is seen as the favorite for the 2026 World Cup, with only one other bid -- Morocco -- so far in the running for the tournament.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada World Cup bid will submit between 20-25 venues in its final bid to FIFA, with 12 locations likely to be chosen as host cities.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament using FIFA's expanded 48-team format.