FIFA President Gianni Infantino (C) during the World Cup 2026 Host City Announcement in New York City, US, June 16, 2022. (Photo: CFP)

Matches for the 2026 World Cup will be held in 11 US cities as well as three host sites in Mexico and two in Canada, soccer's world governing body, FIFA, announced on Thursday.

The first ever World Cup shared between three nations will also see a record number of teams taking part, increasing from 32 to 48 as the tournament returns to North America for the first time since the 1994 finals.

US, Canada and Mexico won the combined bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the 207 nations and regions voted at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, June 13, 2018. (Photo: CFP)

It will be the second time the US has hosted the World Cup after the first in 1994. Venues in the country are all stadiums used by NFL teams, and include the New York Giants' MetLife Stadium and the Los Angeles Rams' $5 billion SoFi Stadium, which hosted this year's Super Bowl.

This is an aerial view showing MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New York City, US, June 20, 2014. (Photo: AP)

Mexico will be hosting the finals for a third time after serving as solo hosts in 1970 and 1986.

Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, named on Thursday as one of the venues, will be the first stadium to feature in three separate World Cups.

Canada's venue cities include Vancouver's BC Place and Toronto's BMO Field. It will be the first time a men's World Cup match has been held in the country.

FIFA officials will decide at a later date which of the 16 cities will host group play and which will host elimination round matches.

List of venues for FIFA 2026 World Cup:

-Canada-

Vancouver (BC Place)

Toronto (BMO Field)

-United States-

Seattle (Lumen Field)

San Francisco (Levi's Stadium)

Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)

Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)

Dallas (AT&T Stadium)

Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)

Houston (NRG Stadium)

Boston (Gillette Stadium)

Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Stadium)

Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)

New York City (MetLife Stadium)

-Mexico-

Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)

Mexico City - (Azteca Stadium)

Monterrey (Estadio BBVA)

(With input from AFP)