The trip to Atlanta is the second of four stops on the tour made by the panel, which has the power to exclude either the North American attempt or the Moroccan bid before the vote at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on June 13 if they fail to meet the requiremens.

The Task Force's evaluation of Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, began with a visit to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta United training facility.

It will be used as a training facility if the bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico is successful and if Atlanta is chosen as an official host city.

The FIFA Task Force then inspected the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in the running to host a semi-final if the North American bid is awarded the hosting rights.

Officials claim the venue, home of Atlanta United in Major League Soccer (MLS) and National Football League franchise the Atlanta Falcons, is the "most sustainable sports venue in the world".

The $1.6 billion (£1.1 billion/€1.3 billion) venue hosted the largest single-game crowd in MLS history last year when 71,874 fans watched Atlanta play Toronto FC.

The Georgia World Congress Center, which could play host to media facilities during the tournament, was also looked at by the Task Force.

Atlanta is one of 23 cities proposed for the 2026 World Cup, with 17 in the US and three each in Canada and Mexico.

A total of 16 stadiums will be selected if United 2026 bid beats Morocco in the race to stage FIFA's quadrennial showpiece.

Following the trip to North America, the Task Force is scheduled to visit Morocco from next Monday to Thursday (April 16 to 19), where they will travel to Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and Casablanca.

This is considered a key moment in the race following speculation FIFA President Gianni Infantino is trying to eliminate the Moroccan bid as he prefers the joint US, Canadian and Mexican effort.

FIFA has been criticised for the way in which it has conducted the bid process so far, with Morocco claiming world football's governing body changed the scoring system just 24 hours before they officially submitted its attempt.

The changes to the scoring system see infrastructure, including stadia and hotels, account for 70 per cent of the initial score given to a bid before it can qualify to enter the ballot.

Confusion over the remit of the Task Force also surfaced last month.

Reports have suggested a vote on the Committee's remit took place in the Colombian capital, with all six African members - including continental President Ahmad - going against Infantino's wishes.

The Task Force was initially set to make a recommendation to FIFA's ruling Council before any decision on whether or not the bids can proceed was made.

It has now been suggested the Council will merely rubber-stamp the verdict of the FIFA Task Force.

Infantino has consistently defended the bid process, insisting FIFA has not changed the rules and that the bid race will be fair and transparent.