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States offer tax breaks, funds for chance to host World Cup

FILE - Alan I. Rothenberg, chairman, president and CEO of World Cup USA 1994, holds up a card reading "Chicago Soldier Field," at a news conference in New York, March 23, 1992, where the nine sites for soccer's 1994 World Cup were announced. As FIFA prepares to announce the 2026 World Cup sites on Thursday — and make high-profile cuts — Alan Rothenberg thought back to when stadiums were picked for the 1994 tournament he headed in the United States. (AP Photo/Osamu Honda, File) FILE - Soccer fans cool off in the water as they watch a broadcast of France playing Croatia in the World Cup soccer as they attend the "Ballyhoo Boat Bash" at the Haulover Sandbar in Miami, on July 15, 2018. .S. cities and states have lined up with tax breaks and millions of dollars in both public and private investments for a chance at hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup games, set to be announced Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Carle Juste/Miami Herald via AP, File0 FILE - French soccer fans watch France play Belgium in a World Cup semifinal soccer game on a gigantic screen in New York's Times Square, on July 10, 2018, in New York. U.S. cities and states have lined up with tax breaks and millions of dollars in both public and private investments for a chance at hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup games, set to be announced Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) FILE - U.S. players run drills during a practice for the Women's World Cup soccer final under the open roof of BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Saturday, July 4, 2015. There are 23 venues bidding to host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) FILE - FC Dallas and Toronto FC players take pitch at the newly renovated BMO Field before the start of an MLS soccer match in Toronto on Saturday, May 7, 2016. There are 23 venues bidding to host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP, File) FILE - Lumen Field is shown during an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in Seattle. There are 23 venues bidding to host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. (AP Photo/Ben VanHouten, File) FILE - Fans watch during the first half of an NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. There are 23 venues bidding to host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File) FILE - Lincoln Financial Field is shown during the first half of an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, in Philadelphia. There are 23 venues bidding to host soccer matches at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. (AP Photo/Michael Perez, File)
States offer tax breaks, funds for chance to host World Cup