On Monday afternoon, 102 stories above lower Manhattan, North American soccer authorities will reach for the stars.
In a long-anticipated announcement, the presidents of the U.S., Mexican and Canadian federations will gather atop One World Trade Center to declare their intention to submit a joint bid to stage the 2026 World Cup.
Only once has multiple countries shared the quadrennial festival, and Japan and South Korea did so in 2002 under an 11th-hour agreement approved by FIFA, the sport's international governing body.
The three neighboring nations seeking the '26 tournament - let's call it the NAFTA World Cup - will pursue the event in the spirit of cooperation and regional brotherhood in a time of tightening borders and frayed diplomacy.