WAYNE Forde, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), told Chronicle Sport that “Guyana is on the right side of history,” after the Joint Bid, presented by the USA, Mexico and Canada, found favour with the FIFA Congress over Morocco, for the rights to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The ‘Joint Bid’ secured 67% (134) of the votes required, while Morocco picked up a total of 65 votes when the FIFA Congress, for the first time, cast their votes via ‘open ballots’.

According to Forde, he was pleased to play his part in the bid being won by the members of his affiliated confederation, since he addressed the 33rd Concacaf Ordinary Congress in Moscow and made a pitch for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in particular, to rally behind the USA, Mexico and Canada bid.

“On June 11, 2018, I was given an opportunity to address the CONCACAF Congress and make a commanding case for the United Bid, I am very proud of playing a small but significant role in this historical decision,” Forde said. at the Congress, which focused on inclusive growth through competitions expansion and core development efforts.

While it will be the first time Canada will be hosting a Men’s World Cup, the USA will see the most-watched and lucrative sporting event make a return after hosting it in 1994, and Mexico will be hosting the sporting spectacle for the third time (1970, 1986).

“It’s just good manners, if you’re at home, you look after home,” Forde had told this publication prior to his departure to Russia, when asked about his support for the Joint Bid.

“If we’re (joint bid) successful in bringing it into our confederation then it’s going to be the most profitable World Cup in the history of FIFA World Cups.

“It’s projected to garner somewhere around $11.5B to $12.5B in profit, so why would we not want to do that. Of course we would want to see some of that revenue invested particularly in infrastructure in Guyana; so of course I’ll be supporting the joint bid of North America,” Forde firmly stated.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first time FIFA’s flagship tournament will be hosted by three countries. However, the majority of games are proposed to be played in the USA, where only 20 matches will be shared equally between Mexico and Canada and the other 80 being played in the USA, including the finals at the 84,953-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey; home of NFL franchises New York Giants and the New York Jets.

Yesterday’s congress marked the first time FIFA had given their members a chance to decide on the hosting rights for the World Cup.

It was reported that the USA funded US$6M of the US$8M cost for the bid for the FIFA World Cup which is projected to make approximately US$11B in profit.