HARRIS COUNTY - HSA INSIDER
A weekly look at all things Houston sports from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority: Houston still in on World Cup soccer bid
Patti Smith
Mar 16, 2018, 7:31 am
Houston remains part of the United bid. Courtesy photo
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Another step for #United2026. A small leap for the City of Houston.
With 89 days left until FIFA chooses a site for the 2026 World Cup, Houston remains in the running as an official Candidate Host City for the United Bid of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Bid organizers whittled the list of potential Host Cities down to 23 Thursday and will include all of them in the United Bid Book. FIFA’s decision on the host country is expected to be announced June 13.
If United does win the bid, the list of host cities will be trimmed to 16.
Janis Burke, CEO of the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority was thrilled with Houston’s inclusion in those final 23 cities.
“Our community has demonstrated its love for soccer by hosting three world-class Copa America Centenario matches and many successful international soccer matched and we are still riding the excitement of the Houston Dynamo’s playoff run,’’ Burke said. “We have great confidence that we will add the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the list soon.”
Over the last decade, Houston has added soccer to its list of superstar sports. The Dynamo won two MLS Cup titles, made a run at a third last year before falling short and started strong this season. The Dash, under new coach Vera Pauw, begins its season later this month. Soccer is thriving on collegiate and youth levels as well.
The city was on display last November when Houston hosted a four-day idea summit for the unprecedented three-country bid. The summit, which coincided with the Dynamo’s playoff run, included representatives from 32 cities and officials from the United Bid Committee. The group came away with not only multiple potential concepts for the bid, but also a great feel for Houston and the downtown footprint that has been so successful for Super Bowl LI and the 2016 Final Four.
Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey are the international cities on the list. The U.S. has a total of 17 cities. Among the other 16 are Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
The United Bid is a unique collaboration. Mexico has a 75-year love affair with soccer, while Canada is an emerging soccer nation. And America? It has been three decades since the U.S. hosted the impressive 1994 World Cup, which holds the record for most tickets sold.
“Canada, Mexico and the United States have joined together to deliver a United Bid that offers FIFA and its member associations the power of unity, the promise of certainty, and the potential of extraordinary opportunity,’’ said John Kristick, Executive Director of the United Bid.
“We are confident that the combination of our 23 existing world-class stadiums, 150 existing elite training facilities, and our modern and interconnected transportation network can help FIFA to achieve new records for attendance and revenue which will allow the entire global football community to improve and grow.’’
In November, summit officials noted there was “great growth and engagement” in the three United Bid countries which would benefit the global soccer community.
The bid is a whopping 530 pages and FIFA plans another North American visit sometime in April.
In the meantime, soccer enthusiasts in Houston who want their city included in the final 16 should the #United2026 bid be successful, can make a difference. Turning out to watch Dynamo, Dash and other games, as well as letting their voices be heard on social media can only help.
“Supporting any soccer event in Houston is something everyone can do,’’ said Doug Hall, HCHSA’s vice president of special projects. “It shows the United Bid Committee and FIFA that we’re not just a big city, but we’re a big city that supports soccer – all levels of soccer.’’
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.