2026 FIFA World Cup USA-Mexico-Canada

On March 14th of this year, the FIFA council met to approve the proposal for the new format of the World Cup that will begin to be implemented from the 2026 edition that will be hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada, in what will be the first World Cup with three host countries as well.

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Throughout history, the World Cup format has undergone several modifications, mainly in the number of participating teams that increased from the 13 national teams of the first edition to the 32 teams we had in Qatar 2022, the same number that it had been held since the 1998 edition in France. Since 1954, it was established that the number of participants would be 16, something that changed in Spain in 1982 when it was increased to 24, an amount that was maintained until 1998.

For the next FIFA World Cup, there will be 48 participating teams, which logically leads to a change in the tournament structure since 12 groups of 4 teams each will be formed, replacing the 8 groups held until Qatar. The first two of each group and the 8 best third parties move on to the next round, where the direct elimination phase would begin. This gives a total of 104 matches during the tournament, which are 40 additional matches compared to Qatar 2022.

All this translates into 4 billion dollars in additional income to that generated in the last edition of the tournament, reaching 11 billion dollars in total, this being the main reason for the modification of the tournament. However, in this sense, we can also highlight the intention of FIFA, or more precisely, of the current leaders of the highest governing body of world football, to improve its image and gain support in the different confederations due to the increase in the number of participants. This is reflected in greater chances of participating in a FIFA World Cup for national teams that cannot normally qualify for the final phase of the tournament.

From a purely sporting point of view, an increase in the number of participants can lead to a decrease in the competitiveness of the tournament since there will be a greater gap between the participating teams due to the presence of teams in a format of 32 participants who would not have qualified. Therefore, at least in the group stage, the general level of the competition may suffer a drop compared to previous editions.

The FIFA World Cup is played at the end of the European season (beginning of June) so the players come from a season that can be around 50-60 games on average and with this format, the teams that reach the last instances, they will play an additional match, something that can impact the level of quality at display. On the logistical side of things, changes are also required since for a single country it can be very complicated to make all the preparations to receive and house a large number of tourists as well as the number of stadiums in condition to play the 104 matches, which makes joint bids almost mandatory to be able to host a FIFA World Cup from the next edition moving forward.

🗓️👀 Sunday 19 July 2026, we do it all again… 🏆#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/SLO22tP70C

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 14, 2023

Focusing on the political and economic side of the decision, it seems correct. However, in terms of football, it could be detrimental to the quality of the show that is expected from a tournament of this magnitude.