FIFA WC 2026 to be the biggest ever

BIGGER WILL BE better — that’s FIFA’s gamble for the all-changed 2026 World Cup, which takes place across a record number of host countries with more games than ever before.

- GREG O'KEEFFE

BIGGER WILL BE better — that’s FIFA’s gamble for the all-changed 2026 World Cup, which takes place across a record number of host countries with more games than ever before.

The major difference from any iteration of the tournament is that 48 teams will compete in it for the first time. That means 16 more nations are set to be represented than at the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

All those extra fixtures will be played across three counties; Canada, Mexico and the United States, marking the first time a World Cup has been shared by three host nations.

In 2018 when FIFA members voted for the ‘United 2026 bid’, in front of Morocco’s proposal to host it, then US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro called it a “rare and important moment”.