Vancouver has already hosted a World's Fair, an Olympic Games, and the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Now, it's in line to possibly host one of the world's most popular sporting spectacles: the FIFA World Cup for men.

The United Bid Committee has put Vancouver on a shortlist of 32 cities.

Others in contention include Montreal, Seattle, and Miami.

"I'm thrilled Vancouver is shortlisted as a FIFA 2026 World Cup host city," Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a news release. "Our Sport Hosting Vancouver partners put together a compelling story that showcases Vancouver's world-class hosting reputation and experience and we would be honoured to welcome the world again in 2026."

According to the City of Vancouver, there will be 10 matches in Canada if North America hosts the tournament.

One of the barriers to Vancouver's bid, however, is the artificial turf at B.C. Place Stadium.

This became a source of controversy in 2015 when FIFA Women's World Cup matches were played there.

The men's World Cup matches have traditionally been played on natural grass. However in 2014, FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke said that men's games could be played on artificial turf in the future.

FIFA and Kantar Media reported that the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil reached a global in-home television audience of 3.2 billion people.

The final match between Germany and Argentina was viewed by more than one billion.

The attendance at the matches exceeded 3.4 million people.