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There’s a long way to go, but North America’s top soccer official says Vancouver’s potential to be a World Cup host city is a very big deal for his home town.

Victor Montagliani, president of CONCACAF, the body which overseas soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, called Vancouver being named Tuesday in a list of 44 cities which could potentially play host to matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup a “salivating proposition.”

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“We saw what Vancouver did with the Women’s World Cup (in 2015),” he said. “The men’s World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world.

“It’s an opportunity to put Vancouver back on the international sporting map.”

As part of a joint bid by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup, the United Bid Committee of Canada, Mexico and the United States released a list of 49 potential venues in 44 cities on Tuesday.

Included in the list were nine Canadian stadiums in seven cities: McMahon Stadium (Calgary); Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton); Olympic Stadium (Montreal); Saputo Stadium (Montreal); TD Place (Ottawa); Mosaic Stadium (Regina); Rogers Centre (Toronto); BMO Field (Toronto); and B.C. Place (Vancouver).