Vancouver has been dropped from the North American bid to host the 2026 World Cup, the provincial government confirmed on Wednesday.
United 2026 -- the committee which represents the United States, Canada and Mexico's interest in hosting football's biggest event -- has informed the city it has been dropped from the list of candidates being considered to stage matches should North America win the right to put on the tournament.
"We submitted our second bid last night and this morning we received notification that [United 2026] have not accepted the bid," Tourism Minister Lisa Beare told reporters at the British Columbia Legislature on Wednesday.
According to Beare, the province, in which Vancouver is located, "couldn't agree to terms that would put British Columbians at risk of shouldering potentially huge and unpredictable costs."
She added in a statement: "So far, the bid committee has rejected our requests to clarify how much British Columbians could be expected to contribute. And they have declined to negotiate with the province regarding the concerns we raised."