02 November 2023 , 09:00
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Stan Kroenke's dispute with FIFA has taken another twist as he insisted his SoFi Stadium venue must host games of 'significant heft' at the next World Cup.
The $£4.5bn stadium, owned by the Arsenal owner, is one of the 16 arenas expected to stage matches at the 2026 tournament. However, the state-of-the art home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers could be withdrawn altogether by the Gunners chief.
Seventy-six-year-old billionaire Kroenke's major concern ahead of the tournament is that the venue will lose money during games played at SoFi. He believes that staging group matches and early knockout games simply would not make economic sense, and believes that the showpiece matches will be played on the East Coast later in the tournament.
FIFA officials are set to tour the Inglewood, California, complex this week, according to the LA Times, as they run the rule over the site once more. However, neither the governing body or the Los Angeles World Cup host committee are expected to comment on their meeting at the venue.
The Gunners owner has his sights set on staging the final at the next tournament, which will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada. The sports tycoon, who controls five professional sport franchises, has remained coy on the standoff with FIFA previously claiming: "We’re heavily involved in it, and they love our stadium."
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Unyielding when it came to speculation surrounding tensions with FIFA, he expressed patience and a desire to 'see where it turns out'. However, it's understood that the AT&T Stadium in Dallas and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium are instead frontrunners to host the next showpiece.
If he is to not see his wish fulfilled, it's claimed he could pull the 70,240-seater venue from the tournament altogether. Previous reports have posited that the Arsenal chairman has already been at loggerheads with FIFA over the SoFi's current suitability to host games.
SoFi Stadium has been named as a host venue for the FIFA World Cup in 2026 but this may change, with tensions allegedly building (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)Officially, Kroenke has refused to make his apparent discord with FIFA a public matter, coyly saying: "One of the things we’ve looked at most hard is how the time zone works for the games around the world. That’s a different issue. There’s a lot of speculation about this and that, what you’d have to do to the stadium."
According to ESPN, another major issue with the stadium when it comes to hosting football matches is that it allegedly currently cannot accommodate a soccer pitch. Essentially, Kroenke would have to make some major adjustments to the stadium before it fits with regulations.