FIFA World Cup 2026: The FIFA World Cup 2026 is just days away from getting underway, and the tournament is already set to make history. Along with expanding to 48 teams for the first time, the competition will also become the first-ever World Cup to be co-hosted by three nations — the United States, Mexico and Canada. But why did FIFA opt for a three-country hosting model, and what makes this edition so unique?
Why Are USA, Mexico and Canada Hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 Together?
Initially, the United States, Canada, and Mexico each planned to submit individual bids for the hosting rights of the 2026 World Cup. However, they later decided to collaborate, adopting the slogan “United As One.” In 2017, the football associations of these North American nations formally announced their partnership, branding it the “United Bid.” At FIFA’s 68th Congress in Moscow, Russia, in 2018, member associations cast their votes, resulting in the United Bid securing 67 percent of the 200 votes.
This marked a historic moment, as FIFA declared that, for the first time in the tournament’s 96-year history, the World Cup would be hosted across three countries.
FIFA World Cup 2026: The need to overcome logistical challenges
In yet another historic moment, FIFA World Cup 2026 will have a jaw-dropping 104 games, 40 more than the previous edition hosted by Qatar. A single nation would have seemingly found it difficult to host such a huge number of matches, including the opening ceremony; hence, it opened the door for more nations. Additionally, Canada and Mexico didn’t require any extra construction work to be done in the stadiums since all the venues have an average capacity of 68000, including the required infrastructure.
Nevertheless, 78 games will be hosted by the USA, including the high-stakes clashes like the quarter-final, semi-final and the final. To make matters easier, FIFA has also divided the venues into three clusters as below
- Western region: Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles
- Central region: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City
- Eastern region: Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey
Hence, teams are slated to play their games mostly only in one cluster.
FIFA World Cup 2026 set to become the most lucrative sporting event
Meanwhile, the three North American nations is set to make the FIFA World Cup 2026 the most lucrative sporting event till date. A report by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) disclosed that the 48-team tournament is set to yield a revenue of $80.1bn in gross output across three countries, including $30.5bn in USA alone.
FIFA had made $7.5bn in revenue through four years of commercial deals in relation to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar alone, while it was $6.4bn in the 2015-2018 cycle ahead of the edition in Russia.
