Cincinnati’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Bid Committee Announces Media Partnerships

2026 Cincy, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for Cincinnati’s bid to host 2026 FIFA World Cup™ announced today multiple media partnerships to support the bid effort and engage the local community. 

Local media partners for the 2026 Cincy LOC include: Cincinnati Business Courier, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Magazine, iHeartMedia, WCPO-Channel 9 and FOX 19. Beginning October 4, a multimedia campaign will launch throughout the Cincinnati market including a TV spot, radio spot and newspaper/magazine ads. 

“The 2026 Cincy multimedia campaign will encourage residents to pledge their support of Cincinnati’s bid to host 2026 FIFA World Cup by visiting 2026Cincy.com,” said DJ Hodge, Market President of iHeartMedia and co-chair of the Media Committee for 2026 Cincy LOC along with Jamie Smith, Publisher of the Cincinnati Business Courier.

Earlier this month, the Executive Committee of the LOC was announced and includes: P&G’s David Taylor, Ohio National’s Barbara Turner, Kroger’s Rodney McMullen and American Financial Group’s Carl H. Lindner III.

Cincinnati is one of 17 U.S. cities vying to be a World Cup Host City for the 2026 international event at Paul Brown Stadium. Of the 17, 10 Host Cities will be chosen from the United States with the remaining Host Cities from Mexico and Canada. Only two Midwestern cities, Cincinnati and Kansas City, are among the final 17 U.S. cities competing for the World Cup.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the first time that the expanded field of 48 teams will play in the World Cup, with 80 total matches. Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ could generate more than $5 billion in short-term economic activity, including supporting approximately 40,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in incremental worker earnings across North America, according to a study done by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a leading global management consulting firm.

Canada, Mexico and the United States are hosting the 48-team tournament in 2026, which will be the largest in FIFA World Cup™ history. The study further estimates that individual host cities could expect to see approximately $160-$620 million in incremental economic activity. That translates to a net benefit of approximately $90-$480 million per city.

“Cincinnati is passionate about this beautiful game and we’re prepared to represent the Midwest as a great American soccer city,” said Barbara Turner, CEO of Ohio National Financial Services. “The hard working and collaborative nature of our region puts us in a strong position to win this bid.”

Cincinnati is well positioned to represent the United States as a World Cup host city. With 60% of the nation’s population within an eight hour drive of Cincinnati, the city is located at the center of America’s heartland. The Local Organizing Committee is committed to helping FIFA achieve its goals to roll out the hospitality red carpet and grow the sport of soccer through fan and visitor engagement. In Cincinnati, World Cup will have top billing and be the priority focus.

The last time that America was the host of the World Cup was in 1994, with a record attendance of more than 3.5 million, and an average of 69,174 fans per match. FIFA is looking to break that attendance record on its return to the United States with the expanded World Cup field.