by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, May 10, 2016

In a move to take some of the politics out of the World Cup host selection process that ended up with Qatar, politically popular but technically flawed, as the host of the 2022 World Cup, FIFA announced a four-step bid process that will end in May 2020 with its members selecting the host of the 2026 World Cup. The USA is likely to bid, but its chances depend on one last bit of politicking -- determining who is eligible to bid.As it stands now, only Asian nations are excluded for the 2026 bid process as Qatar will host the previous tournament. A relaxation of the rule implemented in May 2015 by FIFA's executive committee would allow China to bid. China is considered the only country that could beat the USA in a bid race.Reuters reported , however, that FIFA considered increasing the wait period from eight to 12 years or more and that there were no discussions about allowing a continent to host successive World Cups. (There has been talk -- somewhat far-fetched -- of the Asian Football Federation splitting into East and West Asian confederations that would allow China to get around FIFA bid restrictions.)FIFA must also decide on the number of teams -- new FIFA presidentwants an expansion to 40 teams -- the format for the tournament, the criteria for human rights and environmental protection and whether to allow joint bids -- another consideration of which Infantino is in favor.The decision on the 2026 World Cup host was originally expected to be made in May 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, but the bidding process, such as it was, was put on hold following then-FIFA president's decision in June 2015 to step down.A four-step process will be used for the 2026 bid process:-- Consultation phase during which FIFA will explain its new requirements and standards (until May 2017);-- "Enhanced phase for bid preparation" (June 2017 to December 2018);-- Bid evaluation (January 2019 to February 2020);-- Vote by FIFA members (currently 209) at the FIFA Congress (May 2020).Perhaps the greatest interest in bidding has come from the USA's neighbors Canada and Mexico though they couldn't match the USA in terms of the number of modern stadiums that could host the tournament.The delay in the selection process helps the USA immensely. It will give U.S. Soccer's bid committee three years to work with a new administration in Washington and garner the government support it will need for a World Cup bid and ease some of the concerns about FIFA in light of the scandals of recent years.