‘We are putting the band back together’

MIAMI – FIFA announced on Sunday that the game for third place in the 2026 World Cup will be on July 18 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami-Dade County.

Rodney Barreto, co-chair of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee, said on Sunday during This Week In South Florida, that there will be plenty of public free events for fans.

“We will have minority business opportunities,” Barreto said about the “phenomenal” event’s effect on the local economy.

Barreto said FIFA is hiring and moving an office to Coral Gables. He credited David Beckham and other Inter Miami CF owners for making their soccer dreams come true and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava for her support of the World Cup event.

“We are putting the band back together,” Barreto said about his team when he was the chairman of the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee.

On the work ahead, Barreto reported that the FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee will be announcing a new board of directors and the members will be the “who is who of Miami.”

FIFA also announced the opening game will be on June 11 at the Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City, Mexico, and the U.S. team’s opening game will be on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The final World Cup game for first and second place will be on July 19, 2026, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

While 32 teams competed during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, 48 will be competing during the 39-day tournament in 2026.

The other venues in the U.S. are Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Gillette Stadium in Boston, Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay area, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Lumen Field in Seattle, the Mercedes Benz Arena in Atlanta, and the NRG Stadium in Houston.

The other venues in Mexico are Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and Estadio BBVA in Monterrey. The venues in Canada are BC Place in Vancouver and BMO Field in Toronto.