Revealed: 16 venues that will host World Cup 2026 in US, Canada and Mexico - in pictures

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said US, Mexico ands Canada should be ready for a football "invasion" as the host cities for the 2026 World Cup were unveiled on Thursday.

Fifa announced the 16 cities - 11 in the US, three in Mexico and two in Canada - that were successful from the 22 bids put forward in a special event at the Rockefeller Centre in New York.

This will be the first ever World Cup co-hosted by three different countries and will also see a record number of teams taking part, up from 32 to 48 with the tournament returning to North America for the first time since the 1994 finals.

It will be a new challenge for the world's favourite sport in the challenging North American market, where it has yet to make serious inroads. For Infantino, changing that is important.

"This part of the world, these three countries you are leading the world in many areas," he told reporters. "But in the number one sport in the world, which is soccer or football, you are not – yet.

"And the objective must be that you will be leading the world as well in the world’s number one sport."

Many of the matches in 2026 will take place on reconfigured American football fields, as some now use artificial turf.

Eight of the 11 U stadiums have artificial turf and promised to install temporary grass. Some venues, notably SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, cannot currently fit a 68x105m field and would need renovations to remove seats near sidelines.

All of the US games will be held in venues that are home to NFL teams. A total of 60 of the 80 games in the tournament will take place there.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, left, and vice-president Vittorio Montagliani in New York. EPA

Mexico City's iconic Azteca Stadium, which hosted the 1970 and 1986