VIDEO: 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP TO BE HELD IN THREE NORTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES

The 2018 Fifa World Cup officially begins in Russia today, with the hosts taking on Saudi Arabia in the opening match. But, as this year's world cup begins, the hosts of the 2026 Fifa World Cup has already been announced. North America took 134 votes to Morocco's 65 while only one member of congress voted in favour of neither country. The next World Cup will include 48 competing teams compared to only 32 teams playing this year.

In the final bid for the title of 2026 host, both countries were allowed a short presentation motivating why they should host the World Cup. Morocco stated that they would make a 7 billion dollar profit for Fifa while North America said it would make 14 billion dollars, leaving Morocco with a losing streak for the fifth time.

The 2026 Fifa World Cup will be officially hosted, for the first time, by three different countries. Of the 80 games, 10 matches will be held in Canada, 10 in Mexico and 60 in the U.S., with the final match played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home turf of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.

This will be the second time that North America has hosted the World Cup, the first being in 1994 in the U.S. North America won the bid due to it's modern, established stadiums and advanced transport links underpinned by Mexican football craze. Unfortunately, Morocco's strongest argument was their close proximity to Europe, however, a lot of construction and development of public transport and stadiums would have to be done for Morocco to even be capable of hosting the current World Cup format, let alone a 48 team competition.

FIFA inspectors rated the North African nation's stadiums, accommodation and transport as "high risk", and was rated 2.7 out of five in an evaluation report, which raised concerns over several significant aspects.

They said, "the amount of new infrastructure required for the Morocco 2026 bid to become reality cannot be overstated". While US, Canada and Mexico were rated 4 out of 5, a clear win for North America.