The western region cities were the first to be announced and are Vancouver in Canada, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles in the United States and Guadalajara in Mexico.

The central region cities were next to be announced and are Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston in the United States and Mexico City and Monterrey in Mexico. 

Finally, cities in the eastern region were announced and these are Toronto in Canada and Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York/New Jersey in the United States. 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the process to select host cities as "the most competitive" for a FIFA World Cup.

Speaking after the announcement he said: "We congratulate the 16 FIFA World Cup host cities on their outstanding commitment and passion. 

"Today is a historic day - for everyone in those cities and states, for FIFA, for Canada, the USA and Mexico who will put on the greatest show on Earth. 

"We look forward to working together with them to deliver what will be an unprecedented FIFA World Cup and a game-changer as we strive to make football truly global."

Those to miss out are Edmonton in Canada as well as Denver, Nashville, Washington DC-Baltimore and Orlando in the United States.

The 2026 World Cup is set to mark the first time the tournament has been held across three countries.

Canada has never hosted the event before, but Mexico was the sole host in 1970 and 1986 before the US staged it for the first time in 1994

FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani added: "We were delighted by the unparalleled competitiveness of this selection process. 

"We are extremely grateful not only to the 16 cities that have been selected, but also to the other six - with whom we look forward to continuing to engage and explore additional opportunities to welcome fans and participating teams.

"This has always been a FIFA World Cup of three countries, and that undoubtedly will have a tremendous impact on the whole region and the wider football community."