Philadelphia marks one year until the start of the 2026 World Cup
A countdown clock installed outside City Hall made the point, and it will stay there until next summer. "No moment has ever been too big for this city," organizing committee chair Dan Hilferty said.
The morning after the U.S. men’s soccer team’s worst half of play since 1980 — with six current or former Union players on the field, too — might not have been the best time to mark a year until the start of the 2026 World Cup.
But then again, maybe it was. From U.S. Soccer to Philadelphia’s City Hall, everyone has lots of work to do to be ready for the tournament, and time won’t stop to wait.
The point was reinforced Wednesday with the installation of a countdown clock at Dilworth Park bearing the World Cup’s local logo. It started ticking after a ceremony with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson (whose district includes Lincoln Financial Field), local organizing committee leaders Dan Hilferty and Meg Kane, and other local officials.
“Our city has a long history of embracing major events, moments that become part of our very identity and shape who we are as a community,” said Hilferty, the committee’s chair and Comcast Spectacor’s CEO. “No moment has ever been too big for this city. And we get to prove it again next summer, not only with the 250th celebration [of the United States’ founding] and all the other great events, but, for the first time ever, the FIFA World Cup right here in Philadelphia.”
Parker said: “We are prepared [for] when the eyes of the world will be on our great city.” And while there’s still much work for the city, state, and federal governments to do, she used major events from the past as proof that Philadelphia can do its part.
“Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit for this,” she said. “We have the infrastructure, the passion, and the proven track record to deliver world-class events, from the pope’s visit [in 2015] to the NFL draft [in 2017].”
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As Parker name-checked all the dignitaries on hand, she said, “We’re working in partnership with each other, along with all members of Council, to do what Philadelphia does best — and that is to show the world that we know how to be a gracious host.”
Do the U.S. team’s struggles — not just losing games, but drawing poor crowds — impact Philadelphia’s efforts to grow interest in the World Cup? Kane, who as host city executive is the most involved in those efforts, said no.
“I don’t think that the current state, in the last couple of matches, that the U.S. men’s national team has had takes away from the incentive or enthusiasm about this,” she said.
In fact, Kane can fairly say that Philadelphia’s buildup doesn’t need to rely on the U.S. team. It’s been a year since FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, announced that the Americans will play all their group stage games on the West Coast. And if they finish first or second in their group — which surely isn’t asking too much in a 48-team tournament — they’ll barely cross the Mississippi River.
“We have never positioned the U.S. men’s national team as a reason for investment, per se, in Philadelphia,” Kane said. “What we have looked at, in terms of the conversations that we’ve had with potential supporters, is around the fact that it’s a moment of national pride, but also Philadelphia civic pride. That’s really been such an important part of our entire value proposition since 2019 [when the city was picked as a host]: This is, more than anything, a civic endeavor to elevate Philadelphia.”
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When people ask, she’s the first to say that the U.S. won’t play here next year. But she admitted that hasn’t stopped the asking.
“When the July 4 match [a quarterfinal at Lincoln Financial Field] was announced,” she said, “I have [since] received copious amounts of requests for a USA-England rematch from many people who I’m not sure understand how the draw works or how everything falls into place.”
That said, there’s no doubt that a successful U.S. team will give an extra boost to the World Cup here and across the country. No one is rooting against that, even if the team feels a bit difficult to root for at the moment.
“I do think, though, that people will again be excited when the U.S. men’s national team plays [next year],” Kane said. “There is nothing that Philadelphia loves more than an underdog, and if that is the status of the team coming into the tournament, I could absolutely see Philadelphia rallying behind it.”
That made its own point, in a way, just like the ticking clock behind her.
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