Quids in America
It was announced this week that the Euro 2028 opener would be held in Cardiff, with the semi-finals and final at Wembley. Football – if not perhaps the trophy itself – is definitely coming home this time.
Before that happens, the World Cup makes a sojourn to North America as the United States, Canada and Mexico co-host the 23rd edition, with 16 cities taking part and 78 of the 104 matches on US soil.
Yet, if 2028 is football coming home, then 2026 might feel like it’s going to a different planet.
Not for Mexico. It will be their third World Cup. Having hosted the jamboree in 1970, they also took over the hosting duties just sixteen years later when Colombia were forced to pull out.
Of course, while Canada are new to it, the World Cup has been Stateside before too. In 1994, the as-yet best-attended tournament ever took place with a final in the heat of California between perennial winners Brazil and Italy. It, perhaps fittingly, was the first World Cup Final to be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
It also kick-started the formation of a new US professional league. The MLS is a thriving league today, but in 1994 it was still a concept that some determined individuals were trying to turn into a reality and would do so two years after the World Cup left town.
The previous league – the NASL – had been big in the 1970s but had declined and disbanded 1984. At the peak of its powers such stars as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and George Best had graced it with their presence, and the New York Cosmos regularly fetched in crowds of 60,000 or more – and over 70,000 on a number of occasions.
But that wasn’t the US’s first foray into professional soccer. Far from it.
Around a hundred years ago, there was at least one league that was capturing the public imagination and drawing crowds as clubs like Bethlehem Steel, Fall River Marksmen and New Bedford Whalers contested the ASL.
So it’s a country that’s – perhaps surprisingly for some - steeped in soccer/football history. It is also one where it’s innovation is light years ahead of European football. For example, it had substitutions long before they were permitted this side of the Atlantic, and several other ideas, such as play-offs, were introduced long before they were in FIFA, UEFA and the other national federations.
With all that said, why on earth would next summer’s World Cup be anything other than a spectacular show as the best players face off in the best stadiums in front of massive crowds?
Well, there are a few reasons. Especially if you’re a fan.
Size Matters
With 48 teams, it already feels like a bloated and unnecessarily long tournament. With three teams progressing from the majority of groups it will take a massive 72 games to shed just 12 teams. The original plan was to have groups of three, and while this wouldn’t have changed the above numbers, it would have got the first stage completed more quickly and with less games.
FIFA changed their mind after the excitement of the 2022 World Cup group stage, but this had two teams qualifying per group; creating jeopardy that meant that – for example – Argentina were virtually playing knockout football from their second game. The extra place might mean some teams will get through with three draws, or just one win. Time will tell, but instead of groups of death (the top seeded countries won’t get anywhere near each other in the group stage) we might get a few groups of sleep.
Weather
Hot temperatures are nothing new at a World Cup. Other than Argentina (played in a winter that was actually generally warm), South Africa (played in their winter) and Qatar (moved to start in November), most of them have been played at the hottest time of the year for the host nation. The previous tournaments in the US and Mexico were played in extreme heat as many of the kick offs were early afternoon to suit European broadcasters.
Qatar still had high temperatures in November and December, especially for the daytime matches. I spent 12 days there, going to 11 games, and what was evident was that no consideration had been given to fans standing around in fan zones before games. They were wide open spaces with virtually no cover and not that many places to get water (the same could be said of the fan zone and the routes to and from the Metro stations). I hope that those lessons have been learned for next summer.
Visas
“We’ll bring the world to the United Sates of America. The world loves America, whatever some might say.”
The words of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and whilst not exactly a ringing endorsement of the biggest host, it did kind of suggest that people would be able to go. But while those fans from countries who only need an ESTA (usually granted in a few hours) should be okay, many countries in Asia, Africa and South America will have to apply for a visa. Russia and Qatar was the same, but fast-tracked the process, while the USA has not yet made that move.
Visa applications usually involve an interview (face-to-face) at an embassy and the current wait times for this in some countries is currently over a year. So, for example, a fan from Bolivia – who are in the play-offs in March 2026 - might be interviewed to get a Visa in December 2026. See the issue?
"We have a long way to go before we're ready to welcome the world," said Travis Murphy, a former State Department diplomat and founder of Jetr Global Sports, which helps international athletes access US visas. Which worryingly makes it sound like the players may face similar delays. "The current administration has been outspoken in terms of limiting international travel, and putting restrictions into some processes to make it more difficult. The visa process in the USA has not been very clear or efficient for decades. The regulations really haven't changed that much - how strictly some of the rules are enforced is really what is [important] here.”
Pricing
Dynamic pricing will make 2026 the most expensive World Cup ever. Tickets went on sale in October and FIFA’s pricing policy got quite the backlash. The opening game tickets are priced between $560 and $2,235 (for context, the same game in Qatar was $55-$618). The final will set fans back $2,030 to $6,000. Hospitality tickets are significantly higher. Even the earlier games – and there will be some incredibly low-key ones with 48 teams – cost $60 and these lowest price tickets are available in very small quantities. Add in the 15% charges that FIFA are adding and the costs are double that of the last World Cup.
"Combined with travel and accommodation, this will be the most expensive World Cup for match-going fans we've ever seen…by some distance” said Thomas Concannon, who leads the Football Supporters Association's England Fans' Embassy.
Safety
President Trump, before he moved onto the BBC, [allegedly] said a few weeks ago that fans shouldn’t worry about safety as they would ‘move matches to a different city if they think it isn’t safe’.
The eleven host cities in the US are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. So, for arguments sake, if a game is moved from Miami to Seattle, how does that work for fans exactly? Fans who will have planned their specific schedules months in advance and, as we’ve seen above, paid thousands of dollars already. Assuming they’ve got a Visa of course.
It’s been questioned as to whether POTUS has the authority to ‘move’ games, and President Infantino surely has the final say. His predecessor, Sepp Blatter, was certainly more powerful than the leaders of the free world, so this face-off should be an interesting watch.
For a country so committed to providing a lovely welcome to tourists, amazing service and ones that has Disneyland, for Pete’s sake, you do wonder what the vast majority of people there are thinking as next summer fast approaches.
Full disclosure. I love going there and take any opportunity I can to do so. But as many people are trying to leave, and the nation is so divided, I dearly hope it isn’t a case of the right tournament, in the right place, but at the wrong time.
After the issues with Russia and Qatar, this was supposed to be the World Cup that was for everyone.
It would be a shame if a few selected individuals made it all about them.
But not the first time either.
