ATLANTA — The FIFA World Cup is expected to bring millions of people to North America next year.
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We are counting down to the biggest sporting event in the world, which is coming to Atlanta, the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Inside one year until the FIFA World Cup 26 and the head of Atlanta’s host committee says what’s been years of planning and discussions will now get into real decision making and logistics.
“Decisions are being made about what goes where and why and how we’re going to move people around,” said Dan Corso of the Atlanta World Cup Host Committee.
Corso gave an update at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors meeting Thursday morning.
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With Atlanta hosting big, one-time events, it will need to adapt to eight World Cup matches over a month, with days separating matches and six of them scheduled for weekdays.
“You can use that time in between to learn from one and apply to the next,” Corso said.
The Atlanta CVB says the city’s more than 50 million visitors a year include just a small percentage internationally, from outside North America.
The World Cup and up to ten different countries and fanbases coming to Atlanta bring a huge opportunity for businesses and tourists that may have never been here before.
“We’re going to get to show off the city, hopefully go back home, tell their friends, come back again and again, so it’s an opportunity to really show new visitors all the great things the city has,” Atlanta CVB President and CEO William Pate said.
However, we won’t know until December which five initial teams will be here.
“Once we get the draw, we can really start tailoring your planning and your marketing to those respective countries,” Corso said.
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