Education experts are sharply critical
Because of the World Cup: Mexico extends school holidays to almost three months
May 8, 2026 – 6:40 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The Mexican Ministry of Education is bringing forward the summer holidays for over 24 million students by more than a month because of the World Cup. Education experts and parent associations react with sharp criticism.
Because of the 2026 World Cup, Mexico has brought forward the summer holidays for over 24 million students by more than a month. The holidays now start on June 5th and last until August 31st – almost three months. The Ministry of Education cites the main reason as being to avoid traffic gridlock around the World Cup games in the country.
The high temperatures were also cited as a reason. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada had previously advocated canceling school on World Cup match days and allowing employees to work from home – in order to prevent traffic jams and overloading of local public transport.
Parents’ associations and education experts criticize the decision. The newspaper “El Universal” quoted a statement from the parents’ association UNPF: “The education of our children must not be sacrificed for a sporting event.” Patricia Vázquez from the Mexicanos Primero education initiative wrote on Platform
Education expert Marco Fernández from the Technical University of Monterrey said: “Given the challenges we face in improving the learning outcomes of our students, it is worrying that the government is more concerned with the World Cup than with children learning reading, arithmetic and the basics of scientific thinking.”
Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup together with the USA and Canada. The opening game will take place on June 11th at the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City – Mexico will face South Africa. A total of 13 World Cup games will be played in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
