The 2026 edition of the World Cup tournament will also feature 48 teams instead of the traditional 32 teams.
Four years after the 2022 FIFA World Cup ended in Qatar, the next edition of the tournament will be held in North America. Three North American countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup will begin on June 8 and will last until July 3, 2026.
A total of sixteen cities in three nations will host the mega football tournament. With a majority vote at the FIFA Congress, the joint bid of the three countries beat Morocco in 2018 to win the right to host the tournament. Together, these three nations named their offer “United 2026”.
This will be the second time that the United States will host the FIFA WC. The tournament was last held in the country in 1994. However, Mexico will host the men’s tournament for the third time, having previously done so in 1970 and 1986. For the first time, an event of this importance will be held in Canada.
This is a historic event as it is the first time that the World Cup will be held in three different countries. The 2002 FIFA World Cup was hosted by South Korea and Japan. This will also be the first World Cup to be played with 48 teams, up from the usual 32 nations.
Of the sixteen cities designated by FIFA as host cities, eleven are in the United States, three are in Mexico, and two are in Canada. In any case, tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are currently not available. Tickets will go on sale in 2025, as stated in United’s 2026 World Cup bid book.
The expanded format of the 2026 WC will have 48 teams instead of 32 teams. The teams will probably be divided into 16 groups of three teams each. Recent reports, however, suggest that FIFA is likely to continue with 12 groups of four teams each.
Host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
USA (11)
Atlanta – Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Boston – Gillette Stadium
Dallas – AT&T Stadium
Houston – NRG Stadium
Kansas City – Arrowhead Stadium
Los Angeles – SoFi Stadium
Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
New York/New Jersey – MetLife Stadium
Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field
San Francisco – Levi’s Stadium
Seattle – Lumen Field
Canada (2)
Toronto – BMO Field
Vancouver – BC Place
Mexico (3)
Guadalajara – Estadio Akron
Mexico City – Estadio Azteca
Monterrey – Estadio BBVA