The contours of the upcoming Men’s Football World Cup are starting to take shape. The International Football Federation (FIFA) unveiled the details of this first 48-team World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, on Sunday February 4, during a ceremony broadcast from Miami (Florida). (June 11 to July 19, 2026).
Like their co-hosts, Mexico will play all their group matches on home soil, starting with the opening match at Mexico City’s iconic Azteca Stadium. After the 1970 and 1986 World Cups – which resulted in the coronations of Pele’s Brazil and Maradona’s Argentina respectively – the 83,000-plus-seat enclosure will become the first stadium in history to have the honor of launching the competition on three occasions.
For the final, FIFA has chosen New York, the president of world football’s governing body, Gianni Infantino, announced. Host of the New York Jets and Giants American football teams, MetLife Stadium and its 82,500 seats – located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, west of Manhattan – were therefore preferred to Dallas and Los Angeles. Angeles, among other cities expected to host the finals. . In 2010, the stadium in New York metropolis took over from Giants Stadium, which hosted three matches in the 1994 World Cup and which saw Brazil win its fourth crown at the expense of Italy.
FIFA also announced the locations of the semi-finals and third-place matches on Sunday, all of which are scheduled in the United States – where the majority of matches will be held (78 out of 104), while Canada and Mexico will host thirteen matches each. Dallas and Atlanta will host the Final Four, then Miami will be the scene of the “mini finals.”
An XXL tournament and record earnings
The format of the competition has been expanded to 48 teams – compared to 32 since 1998 – for a total of 104 matches (previously 64), distributed between sixteen stadiums already announced in 2022: eleven in the United States, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles , Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York; three in Mexico, with Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey; and two in Canada, with Toronto and Vancouver. The Americans will open their tournament in Los Angeles, while Canada will play its first match in Toronto.
The 48 competing teams will be divided into 12 groups of four. The top two as well as the eight best third-placed teams in each “pool” will advance to the Round of 16, extending the knockout phase by one step, which had previously begun in the Round of 16. As many as six matches will be played every day during the final days of the group stage.
Surrounded by guests such as comedian and actor Kevin Hart, Canadian rapper Drake, star Kim Kardashian and former Brazilian football world champion Cafu, Gianni Infantino expressed hope. “Six Million Supporters” And “Six Billion Viewers” XXL for the tournament that promises FIFA to beat all its commercial records. During the period 2019-2022, the International Federation’s turnover has reached a record 7.6 billion dollars (7.07 billion euros) with a reserve of almost 4 billion dollars (3. 72 billion euros) at the end of 2022. For the 2023-2026 cycle, it expects revenues of 11 billion dollars (10.23 billion euros).
