Arturo Sarukhán, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States who has for several years championed the idea of a World Cup with the two countries as joint hosts, hailed the event as a chance for repair. “A unique opportunity to create people to people connections & heal some of the wounds in the narrative of ‘us vs them’ being propelled by Potus,” he said on Twitter. But it is also expected to be a largely private-sector endeavor, and as long as politicians keep their politics out of the way, experts say, things should go smoothly. Mexico and Canada will each hold just 10 of the 80 matches, compared with 60 in the United States, which also will be the site of the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. The only other time FIFA awarded a World Cup to more than one country was in 2002, when Japan and South Korea were hosts of the tournament.

Source: New York Times June 13, 2018 21:18 UTC