United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said no decision has been made about hosting the 2026 World Cup nor has the federation offered to co-host the tournament with Mexico, according to a report.
Football officials from both countries told ESPN FC last week that initial discussions were held on the sidelines of the FIFA Congress taking place in Mexico City this week, with further meetings expected to take place over the coming months and that a joint bid between the two countries had already won early support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
John Motta, a board member of the United States Soccer Federation, told ESPN FC last week: "We have spoken to our Mexican counterparts and are very open to the idea of a joint bid."
On Friday, however, Gulati told the LA Times that no such agreement had been discussed.
"We haven't made a decision about the [2026] World Cup. Until we know what the rules are of the bid process -- which won't be until October at the earliest -- we're not going to be making a decision," he told the newspaper. "And we certainly haven't had any formal discussions with the Mexican federation at this point."
Mexican Football Federation president Decio de Maria told ESPN FC that he had a private meeting with Infantino on Sunday in which he raised the possibility of a joint bid with the United States.
Two days later, the FIFA Council said in announcing a new process on how the 2026 World Cup will be awarded that it was once again open to the idea of joint bids. A final decision on who stages the tournament will be made in May 2020.
Since the 2002 World Cup, hosted by Japan and South Korea, world football's governing body has not entertained joint bids.
"Mr. Infantino was very enthusiastic about my idea for a joint bid and wants me to pursue this further," De Maria said.
U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994, drawing 3.6 million fans, which is still a World Cup record.
"I don't believe that record will be broken until the U.S. hosts another World Cup," Gulati said.