FIFA: World Cup 2026 – Many questions at the biggest tournament

FIFA has set venues for the 2026 World Cup. For the first time, 48 teams are playing – many questions arise about the biggest World Cup tournament to date.

There were at least a few answers about the announcement of the venues on Thursday in New York.

Which cities has FIFA chosen?

The tournament will take place in 16 stadiums. The venues are:

Why are only two Canadian cities included?

In the end, in addition to Toronto and Vancouver, Edmonton was the third Canadian city among the applicants. A lot happened in Canada in terms of sports policy: the regional government in the Canadian province of Quebec refused financial support for an application from the city of Montreal, and the city withdrew from the process. Vancouver had also withdrawn in the meantime, making Edmonton, along with Toronto, one of only two candidate cities from Canada for a long time.

But then Vancouver returned to the race at short notice in April 2022, according to Canadian media reports, also at the urging of Canadian FIFA Vice-President Victor Montagliani, who is also President of the North and Central American Confederation CONCACAF, comparable to UEFA. Edmonton is also said to have required a minimum number of games. Such demands and the fact that the Commonwealth Stadium is spectacular but rather outdated may have influenced FIFA’s decision.

In addition to Edmonton in Canada, the candidate cities of Cincinnati, Denver, Washington/Baltimore, Nashville and Orlando in the USA were dropped. All three applicants from Mexico are eligible.

Where will the final take place?

It has not yet been decided where the most important football game on this planet will take place. New York and New Jersey made offensive claims to the finals. The New Jersey governor said, according to the New York Times: “We have everything FIFA wants in a stadium and that’s why we’re tackling it.”

The Aztec Stadium in Mexico, where the opening game and the final took place in both 1970 and 1986, has the greatest tradition of World Cups. Will the final be played there again? FIFA President Gianni Infantino replied evasively: “There will be games at the stadium.” Everything else will be clarified. FIFA VP Montagliani said capacity and travel distance from the semi-final venues could play a role in the selection.

How does FIFA intend to prevent long journeys?

Some locations are extremely far apart. There are around 4,000 kilometers as the crow flies between Vancouver and Mexico City. Regions West, Central and East, in which the teams change venues, are conceivable. “In a region as large as North America, we have to take special care of it.”said Infantino. “We need to make sure teams are playing in regionally clustered venues so fans don’t have to travel insanely long distances.”

However, this will hardly be prevented completely when the tournament goes into the knockout phase.

What role does the heat play in summer?

Especially in the east and south of the USA and in Mexico, there are usually temperatures well above 30 degrees in June and July. This can be a problem for players. The current World Cup tournament in Qatar has been postponed to November and December because of the summer heat there.

This is not an issue for 2026. “We’re relaxed about that”said Infantino. “There are stadiums with closable roofs. We will consider where you can play in the afternoon and where it is better to play in the evening. Many factors come into play.”

For the first time, 48 teams are playing – how is that supposed to work?

FIFA wanted to have more games overall in order to make more money, but without increasing the number of games per team and thus the burden on the players. The FIFA Council therefore decided that there should be 16 groups of three teams each at the 2026 World Cup, in which the first and second in each group move into a round of 16.

The idea has been criticized because in this format, games that can be agreed upon can be created much more easily than before. An example:

There are numerous other examples of how problematic constellations can arise in this mode. It is not known whether the format will be revised again. Marco van Basten, who works for FIFA in the “Technical Development” department, brought up the subject of penalty shoot-outs in the preliminary round – but these could only alleviate the problem and not solve it.

Can football stadiums simply be made into soccer stadiums?

In football, a field is about 110 m long and 49 m wide. The football rules prescribe a width of 45 m to 90 m and a length of 90 m to 120 m. In principle, the conversion should be relatively easy, but extremely narrow playing fields could result.

Colin Smith, director of competitions at FIFA, spoke of a few “narrow areas”that need to be addressed. But he also said that the preparation in the stadiums will not cost seats in the stands. “It will not affect stadium capacities. We will have the highest attendance ever.”

What’s in it for FIFA?

A lot of money is at stake for FIFA. The men’s World Cup finances the world association, which only generates profits through the tournament every four years – but then correctly. In Russia 2018, FIFA took in around five billion euros and made more than three billion euros in profit.

The enlarged tournament on the coveted US market raises monetary hopes: Carlos Cordeiro, the head of bids – now in the service of FIFA – spoke of possible income of more than 13 billion euros in 2018 and a profit for FIFA of more than ten billion . The claim is clear. Infantino said about the enlarged tournament that the World Cup will bring “80 Super Bowls, 80 Incredible Games, 80 Playoffs.”

What does it cost the fans?

Ticket sales account for a significant proportion of revenue, and given the size of the stadiums, they could also break records. 5.8 million tickets are to be sold calculated in the application documents. Revenue from ticket sales alone is said to be $2.1 billion.

The traveling fans have to pay this money. A first possible price structure for the tickets is listed in the application; in addition to the four ticket categories mentioned, there are also luxury and VIP packages.