[FIFA World Cup 2026] The Greatest Festival on Earth is Just 2 Years Away - Part 1: Introduction-

2026 World Cup to be Co-hosted by Three Countries

More than a year has passed since the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

The World Cup, often called 'the world's greatest festival,' is held every four years, and in 2026, three North American countries (the United States, Mexico, and Canada) will jointly host the event.

The 2026 World Cup will be the 23rd World Cup and the second co-hosted event in history, following the 2002 'Republic of Korea & Japan' World Cup, as well as the first ever to be co-hosted by three countries. Another unique aspect is that it will be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, an increase from the previous 32.

Host Countries and Cities for the Three-Country Event

As this will be the first World Cup co-hosted by three countries, matches are scheduled to take place in major cities across each nation. I decided to write this post because I believe it's helpful to know in advance which countries and cities will host the matches. If you are planning to visit these cities or have a travel plan, it would be great to know this in advance. As someone running a sports brand called KAZUA in Korea specializing in football, I also really want to be at the 2026 World Cup in person, and I'm planning ahead and hoping this post provides helpful information to everyone.

Since three countries are co-hosting, matches are planned in key cities in each country. Let's look at the cities where the stadiums are located in each country.

[Canada]

• British Columbia / Vancouver / BC Place Stadium (54,000 seats)
• Ontario / Toronto / BMO Field (30,000 seats)

[Mexico]

• Mexico City / Estadio Azteca (87,523 seats) / *Host of the 1970 and 1986 World Cups - Opening match venue
• Nuevo León/ Monterrey / Estadio BBVA (53,500 seats)
• Jalisco / Guadalajara / Estadio Akron (46,232 seats)

[United States]

• New York/New Jersey / New York / MetLife Stadium (82,500 seats) / *Final match venue
• California / Los Angeles (Inglewood and Pasadena) / Rose Bowl (92,000 seats) / *Host of the 1994 World Cup
• California/ Los Angeles (Inglewood and Pasadena) / SoFi Stadium (70,240 seats) / *Dome stadium
• California / San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara) / Levi's Stadium (68,500 seats)
• Texas / Dallas (Arlington) / AT&T Stadium (80,000 seats) / *Dome stadium - Semi-final match venue
• Texas/ Houston / NRG Stadium (72,220 seats) / *Dome stadium
• Missouri / Kansas City / Arrowhead Stadium (76,416 seats)
• Georgia / Atlanta / Mercedes-Benz Stadium (71,000 seats) / *Dome stadium - Semi-final match venue
• Pennsylvania / Philadelphia / Lincoln Financial Field (69,796 seats)
• Washington / Seattle / Lumen Field (69,000 seats)
• Massachusetts / Boston (Foxborough) / Gillette Stadium (65,878 seats)
• Florida / Miami (Miami Gardens) / Hard Rock Stadium (64,767 seats)

In fact... it's more accurate to consider this the second World Cup in the United States. It feels like the US is hosting it and has given its neighbors Canada and Mexico a taste of it. But since it's already being called the 'North American World Cup' ... let's just go with that!

Allocation of Final Round Qualification Spots for 48 Teams

Previously, when allocating final round qualification spots by continent, the host team was excluded. Therefore, the continental federation to which the host team belonged would have one more team in the final round than usual, as the host team automatically qualified. However, from this tournament onwards, the host team's automatic qualification will be included in the continental allocation. In other words, since the three teams (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) are included in the six spots allocated to North and Central America, the actual number of tickets for the North and Central American and Caribbean region has effectively decreased by three.

In the intercontinental playoffs, five teams (excluding UEFA) and one team from the host continent will compete for two spots. Based on FIFA rankings, the top two teams among the six will receive a bye to the second round of the playoffs. For each spot, one seeded team and two unseeded teams will compete in a tournament format. The intercontinental playoffs are scheduled to take place in November 2025, the year before the World Cup, in the host country.

The allocation of final round qualification spots by continent is as follows:

Automatic qualification (host countries) - Canada, USA, Mexico (3 spots)

South America - 6 spots

North and Central America and Caribbean - 6 spots

Asia - 8 spots

Africa - 9 spots

Oceania - 1 spot

Europe - 16 spots

Part 2 Preview

In Part 2, now that we've learned about the host countries and cities for the World Cup, we'll explore the surrounding areas and places you should visit when planning your trip to each host city.

Thank you for reading.

FORZA

VAMOS

KAZUA

https://www.kazua.soccer