2026 FIFA World CupFIFA World Cup United 2026
Copa Mundial de la FIFA Unidos 2026
Coupe du monde de la FIFA Unis 2026
Bid logoTournament detailsHost countriesCanada
Mexico
United StatesTeams48 (from 6 confederations)Venue(s)16 (in 16 host cities)2022 2030 → International football contest
Reading: 2026 FIFA World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup ( spanish : Copa Mundial de la FIFA de 2026 ; french : Coupe du monde de la FIFA de 2026 ) will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men ‘s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the extremity associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three north american countries ; 60 matches, including the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final examination, will be hosted by the United States while neighboring Canada and Mexico will each server 10 matches. The tournament will be the first gear hosted by three nations. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] This tournament will be the beginning to include 48 teams, expanded from 32. [ 3 ] The United 2026 bid beat a rival wish by Morocco during a final examination vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It will be the first World Cup since 2002 that will be hosted by more than one nation, and the first by more than two. With its past host of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men ‘s World Cups three times. The United States last hosted the World Cup in 1994, whereas it will be Canada ‘s first time hosting or co-hosting the men ‘s tournament .
format [edit ]
Michel Platini, who was President of UEFA at the time, had suggested in October 2013 an expansion of the tournament to 40 teams, [ 4 ] [ 5 ] an idea that FIFA president Gianni Infantino besides suggested in March 2016. [ 6 ] A desire to increase the number of participants in the tournament from the former 32 team format was announced on October 4, 2016. Four expansion options were considered : [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ]
- Expand to 40 teams (8 groups of 5 teams) – 88 matches
- Expand to 40 teams (10 groups of 4 teams) – 76 matches
- Expand to 48 teams (opening 32-team playoff round) – 80 matches
- Expand to 48 teams (16 groups of 3 teams) – 80 matches
On January 10, 2017, the FIFA Council chose the fourth choice and voted unanimously to expand to a 48-team tournament. [ 3 ] The tournament will open with a group stage consisting of 16 groups of three teams, with the top two teams progressing from each group to a hard tournament starting with a round of 32 teams. [ 11 ] The count of games played overall will increase from 64 to 80, but the number of games played by finalists remains at seven, the like as with 32 teams. Each team will play one fewer group peer than under the previous format, compensating for the extra hard round. The tournament will besides be completed within 32 days, the lapp as previous 32-team tournaments. [ 12 ]
criticism [edit ]
The use of a three-team group stage with two teams progressing has been criticized for increasing the gamble of connivance between teams, as seen in previous World Cup group matches such as the 1982 “ Disgrace of Gijón “. [ 13 ] FIFA ‘s headman technical officer Marco van Basten has suggested that string may be prevented during the group degree by the function of penalty shootouts. [ 14 ] This would mitigate the increased risk of collusion but not by much, and would introduce the possibility of a team deciding to eliminate a rival by intentionally losing a penalty gunfight. [ 13 ]
Host excerpt [edit ]
Map of the World with the six confederations The FIFA Council went back and forth between 2013 and 2017 on limitations within hosting rotation based on the continental confederations. primitively, it was set that bids to be host would not be allowed from countries belonging to confederations that hosted the two precede tournaments. It was temporarily changed to alone prohibit countries belonging to the alliance that hosted the former World Cup from bid to host the succeed tournament, [ 15 ] before the predominate was changed back to its prior state of two World Cups. however, the FIFA Council did make an exception to potentially grant eligibility to extremity associations of the alliance of the second-to-last host of the FIFA World Cup in the event that none of the receive bids fulfill the rigid technical and fiscal requirements. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] In March 2017, FIFA president of the united states Gianni Infantino confirmed that “ Europe ( UEFA ) and Asia ( AFC ) are excluded from the bid following the excerpt of Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022 respectively. ” [ 18 ] Therefore, the 2026 World Cup could be hosted by one of the remaining four confederations : CONCACAF ( North America ; death hosted in 1994 ), CAF ( Africa ; death hosted in 2010 ), CONMEBOL ( South America ; final hosted in 2014 ), or OFC ( Oceania, never hosted before ), or potentially by UEFA in case no bid from those four met the requirements .
Map of World Cup hosts stayed after the announcement of the 2026 edition hosts Co-hosting the FIFA World Cup—which had been banned by FIFA after the 2002 World Cup—was approved for the 2026 World Cup, though not limited to a particular issue but rather evaluated on a individual basis. besides for 2026, the FIFA general secretariat, after reference with the Competitions Committee, had the might to exclude bidders who did not meet the minimum technical requirements to host the competition. [ 16 ] Canada, Mexico and the United States had all publicly considered bid for the tournament individually, but the United joint invite was announced on April 10, 2017 .
Allowed to vote Banned from voting
Voted for United offer
Canada–Mexico–United States
Voted for Moroccan wish
Morocco
Voted for neither
Sanctioned by FIFA
Abstained from voting
not a FIFA member Voting results :
Voting [edit ]
The vote took stead on June 13, 2018, during FIFA ‘s annual congress in Moscow, and it was reopened to all eligible members. [ 19 ] The United bid won receiving 134 valid ballots, while the Morocco bid received 65 valid ballots. Upon the selection, Canada becomes the one-fifth nation to host both men ‘s and women ‘s World Cup —the latter was in 2015 —Mexico becomes the inaugural area to host three men ‘s World Cups—previously in 1970 and 1986 —and the United States becomes the first country to host both men ‘s and women ‘s World Cup doubly each—having hosted the 1994 men ‘s and the 1999 and 2003 women ‘s World Cups .
Nation
Vote
Round 1
134
65
None of the bids
1
Abstentions
3
Total votes
200
qualification [edit ]
The 2026 World Cup ‘s qualification process has so far to be decided. The FIFA Council is expected to decide which hosts, if any, will receive automatic rifle qualifications to the tournament. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] The United Bid personnel anticipated that all three host countries would be awarded automatic pistol places. [ 23 ]
Slot allotment [edit ]
On March 30, 2017, the Bureau of the FIFA Council ( composed of the FIFA president and the presidents of each of the six confederations ) proposed a slot allotment for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The recommendation was submitted for the ratification by the FIFA Council. [ 20 ] [ 24 ] On May 9, two days before the 67th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council approved the slot allotment in a meet in Manama, Bahrain. It includes an intercontinental playoff tournament involving six teams to decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths. [ 21 ]
Confederation
FIFA eligible members
Places in finals
(including hosts)
Percentage of members
with places in finals
Places before 2026
(excluding hosts,
including half-places)
AFC
46
8
17%
4.5
CAF
54
9
17%
5
CONCACAF
35
6
17%
3.5
CONMEBOL
10
6
60%
4.5
OFC
11
1
9%
0.5
UEFA
55
16
29%
13
Playoff
–
2
33%
–
Total
211
48
23%
31 (+ hosts)
The topic of how to allocate automatic rifle host country qualification given that there are multiple host countries has not so far been resolved and will be decided by the FIFA council. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] The United bid anticipated that all three host countries would be awarded automatic places. [ 23 ] The ratification of slot allotment gives OFC a undertake moor in the final tournament for the first gear time in FIFA World Cup history. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first tournament in which all six confederations have guaranteed berths .
Playoff tournament [edit ]
A playoff tournament involving six teams will be held to decide the final two FIFA World Cup berths, [ 20 ] consisting of one team per confederation ( except for UEFA ) and one extra team from the confederation of the horde countries ( i, CONCACAF ). Two of the teams will be seeded based on the FIFA World Rankings, and the seeded teams will play for a FIFA World Cup mooring against the winners of the first two smasher games involving the four unseeded teams. The tournament is to be played in one or more of the host countries and to be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup. The existing playoff windows of November 2025 and March 2026 have been suggested as a probationary date for the 2026 edition .
During the bid process, 41 cities with 43 existing, in full functional venues and two venues under construction submitted to be part of the bid ( three venues in three cities in Mexico, nine venues in seven cities in Canada and 38 venues in 34 cities in the United States ). A first-round elimination cut nine venues and nine cities, then a second-round elimination cut an extra nine venues in six cities while three venues in three cities dropped out ascribable to FIFA ‘s unwillingness to discuss fiscal details, [ 25 ] while Montreal dropped out in July 2021, [ 26 ] reducing the total number to 22 venues, each in their own city or metropolitan area. The canadian candidate stadiums have different sporting uses : Edmonton ‘s is the home of a canadian Football League ( CFL ) team and Toronto ‘s is a dual-use Major League Soccer ( MLS ) and CFL stadium. All of the mexican campaigner stadiums have tenants who are in Liga MX, and all of the american campaigner stadiums have tenants who are in the National Football League ( NFL ) with the exception of Orlando ‘s and Los Angeles ‘s, whose elementary usages are for National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) collegiate american football. Although there are dedicated MLS association football venues in Canada and the United States, the largest dedicate MLS stadium seats 30,000, which falls short-circuit of FIFA ‘s minimum of 40,000 ( Toronto ‘s candidate venue, which is an MLS stadium is being expanded from 30,000 to 45,500 for this tournament ). however, there are some stadiums, like Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Lumen Field in Seattle that are used by both NFL and MLS teams. Although primarily used for grid football, all of the Canadian and American stadiums have been used on numerous occasions for affiliation football matches and are besides designed to host association football events. The intention is to stage matches at 16 venues ( 2 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, and 11 in the United States ). While Canada and Mexico have narrowed to 2 and 3 venues, respectively, 17 options in the United States remain in meet pending final survival, leaving 22 candidate cities and venues :
- A
denotes a stadium used for previous men’s World Cup tournaments (United States and Mexico only). - A
denotes an indoor stadium with a fixed or retractable roof.
Canada [edit ]
Mexico [edit ]
United States [edit ]
criticism of the format and controversies [edit ]
The European Club Association and its extremity clubs opposed the proposal for expanding the World Cup, saying that the issue of games was already at an “ unacceptable ” flat and they urged the governing body to reconsider its estimate of increasing the number of teams that qualify. [ 28 ] They contended that it was a decision taken for political reasons because Infantino would frankincense satisfy his electorate, quite than for sporting reasons. [ 29 ] Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional president Javier Tebas agreed, asserting the unacceptability of the fresh format. He told Marca that the football industry is maintained thanks to clubs and leagues, not FIFA, and that Infantino had used the predict of more countries playing in the World Cup to win his election. [ 30 ] german national team coach Joachim Löw warned that expansion, as had occurred for Euro 2016, would dilute the value of the global tournament because players have already reached their physical and mental limit. [ 31 ] U.S. President Donald Trump ‘s executive orders regarding immigration from sealed Muslim-majority countries implemented in 2017 was touted as a potential gamble, with Infantino saying, “ Any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. ” [ 32 ] In response, the Trump administration sent letters to FIFA that understand, in function, that Trump was “ confident ” that “ all eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination. ” [ 33 ] In 2018, Trump then warned the countries that intended to support the Morocco invite to host the 2026 World Cup, tweet : “ The US has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. invite. Why should we be supporting these countries when they do n’t support us ( including at the United Nations ) ? ” [ 34 ] In January 2021, the travel ban was reversed by his successor Joe Biden. [ 35 ]
Broadcasting rights [edit ]
On February 12, 2015, Fox, Telemundo, and Bell Media ‘s rights to the tournament were renewed by FIFA to cover 2026, without accepting any other bids. The New York Times believed that this extension was intended as compensation for the reschedule of the 2022 World Cup to November–December preferably than its traditional June–July scheduling, which falls during the heart of the National Football League season ( where Fox is presently a main U.S. rightsholder ), and the beginning of the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League seasons. [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ]
References [edit ]
Read more: The MMS Institute Thailand