Love or hate the decision by the B.C. government to bail on FIFA and the chance for Vancouver to host a few games of the 2026 World Cup, give the province credit for being first.

Chicago and Minneapolis have also now pulled the plug on the tournament, citing the same problem: the demand from FIFA for what amounts to a blank cheque.

"I see that [Chicago and Minneapolis] share the exact same concerns: that there was no interest by FIFA to negotiate or address our concerns, and that the costs still remain unknown," said B.C. Tourism Minister Lisa Beare.

The province would have to pay for BC Place to be outfitted with a temporary, natural grass field if it were to host World Cup men's matches. (Elaine Thompson/The Associated Press)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel echoed those sentiments: "FIFA could not provide a basic level of certainty on some major unknowns that put our city and taxpayers at risk."

The Minneapolis bid committee worded its withdrawal this way: "Unfortunately, the inability to negotiate the terms of the various bid agreements did not provide our partners and our community with sufficient protections from future liability and unforeseen changes in commitments."

All three cities were part of a North American unified bid that is competing against Morroco to land the 2026 World Cup. In total, 22 cities from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, including Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto remain part of the unified bid.

When a deal isn't a deal

Beare reiterated Wednesday that the most troubling aspect of the bid agreement was the clause that allowed FIFA to unilaterally change the terms of the deal at any point.

"That poses significant risk to B.C. taxpayers," she said.

She also cited concerns over the costs around installing a temporary grass field at BC Place. Although a new $1.3 million dollar artificial turf field was installed in the dome for the the 2015 Women's World Cup, FIFA requires natural grass for the men to play on.

As well, the bid agreement requires local governments to cover the entire cost of security, something that should make British Columbians wary after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games experience where the original security estimate of $175 million ballooned to an actual cost of $900 million.

Diagram showing tax exempt demands from FIFA's Overview of Government Guarantees and Government Declaration document, part of the 2026 bid package. (FIFA.com)

Vancouver journalist Bob Mackin of The Breaker.News website has highlighted further government guarantees demanded in FIFA bid documents, including a 10 year tax holiday for FIFA, its subsidiaries and the organizing committee.

Millions lost?

"That could be 10s of millions of dollars left off the table that will not be paid as taxes here in Canada," he said.

Mackin says FIFA's refusal to negotiate, combined with a history of rampant corruption are combining to make countries and cities more reluctant to bid to host the World Cup.

He also believes more cities are likely to ditch their 2026 bid.

"We're in a different era when it comes to mega-events. Few cities and countries want them like they used to," he said.

"When you get ... cities standing up and saying wait a second, we don't like the terms, you're probably going to see other cities having second thoughts too."