The delegates representing FIFA, world soccer's governing body, were forgiving of the gray, rainy weather that accompanied Cincinnati's bid presentation to host matches during the 2026 World Cup.
"I wouldn't worry about the weather," said Victor Montagliani, a FIFA vice president and the president of FIFA's Concacaf region, of which the U.S. is a part. "This is great football weather.”
Delegates conducted a site visit at Paul Brown Stadium, as well as inspections of training sites around the region on Friday, and the rain was seemingly the only blemish on a day when top business executives and politicians from multiple states combined in what's thought to have been a successful effort to woo FIFA representatives.
The collaborative effort, which included in-person contributions from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Kentucky Gov. Andy Andy Beshear, and top local business leaders, capped off a years-long project to muster a bid for Paul Brown Stadium to host coveted World Cup 2026 matches.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico with 16 venues staging matches across the three countries. Eleven of the venues are expected to be in the U.S.
FIFA officials will have the final say on which cities are selected. With deliberations not expected to produce final answers until as late as June 2022, Montagliani was complimentary but understandably non-committal in his public remarks.
"What's striking to me is the authenticity of your community," Montagliani said. "I know that you want to come out and support, and that's all great. But a lot of times you see it in people's authenticity and I have to say, starting with your corporate leaders, you're an authentic bunch. You really feel it. In fact, you even provided good football weather for us, as I said earlier.
"We have to do our due diligence. We have to make some very difficult decisions, but at the end of the day I want to thank you for the authenticity that you've shown to my FIFA family and to my FIFA staff."
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During a midday presentation, representatives from around the Cincinnati region spoke on the strengths of their bid including, but far from limited to, the sporting culture and training facilities.
Hurdles the bid representatives were expected to answer for Friday included hotel and transportation infrastructure. It is understood the walk-ability of Cincinnati's Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods was emphasized as part of the response to questions of public transit.
David Taylor, chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble, noted during his public remarks that is Cincinnati is centrally located in U.S., and boasts reasonable drive and flights times to other regions.
Taylor also noted the bid included within its extended footprint six airports in addition to the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky.
Taylor is leading the Cincinnati bid's Local Organizing Committee alongside Carl Lindner III, Co-CEO of American Financial Group and Majority Owner of FC Cincinnati, Barbara Turner, CEO of Ohio National Financial Services, and Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen.
"The World Cup is the biggest event in the world and it's broken down into experiences for all the different constituent groups – from media, broadcasters, teams, fans, sponsors, etcetera – but ultimately, the World Cup is delivered by people and that's what's been great to see here today, how everyone has pulled together across the Tri-State, and to work to host the World Cup," said FIFA Chief Competitions and Events Officer, Colin Smith. "The presentation we received today was really excellent, and it just went through all the different areas and questions that we had."
The FIFA delegation's site visit concluded with an inspection of Paul Brown Stadium, which would serve as the host venue for matches as it is the only stadium in the city that meets capacity requirements.
Paul Brown Stadium is something of a question mark in itself. Opened in 2000, it's the 11th oldest stadium among the 17 venues vying to host games in the United States.
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The venue would require greater width at field level in order to conform to FIFA's playing-surface standards and other field-level specifications, but that's been discussed publicly since March and was expected prior to that.
More answers and solutions awaited the delegation inside the venue. Before conducting short interviews, photo opportunities and going inside the venue, Smith said of the effort the Cincinnati region put forward: "message received."
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