By Emma Rassi (Y8)
Once we’ve been freed from the shackles of school, we will be able to lie back and enjoy the summer heat—Starting off the summer months with the 2026 men’s Fifa world cup will be the biggest world cup to date, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches across 16 host cities divided between Canada, Mexico and the United States. It will take place between June 11 and July 19 2026 and will be the first ever world cup to be held in 3 separate countries and because of this, it expanded from the previous 32 teams to 48. The opening game will be held in Mexico City, Mexico and will be played between Mexico and South Africa and the final will take place in the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, USA and will feature “Coldplay” as a half time show inspired by the NFL’s “Superbowl”.
The winning team will receive $50m (£37.5m) with other teams getting prize money down to 9 million dollars at 48th (last) place with each team getting 1.5 million American dollars for preparation costs at the beginning of the tournament. This means that each team participating will get a minimum of 10.5 million American dollars. The prize fund is 50% more than the money for the last world cup in Qatar. Also compared to Qatar there are 40 more games this year than there were in 2022 with the total number of games being 104 compared to 64.
The tournament will last over a month with the match schedule being:
Group stage: June 11 – 24
Round of 32: June 28 – July 3
Round of 16: July 4 – 7
Quarter finals: 9 – 11
Semi finals: 14 – 15
Third place (bronze medal): July 18
Final: July 19
Even though there are many exciting changes surrounding the upcoming tournament, there are also many controversies surrounding it; for example many human rights issues, specifically LGBTQIA+ rights and immigration policies surrounding fans. Many fans are concerned about being able to see their country live during the world cup. Concerns are mostly focused on the U.S. immigration enforcement tactics, travel bans affecting fans and families from certain qualifying nations (including Iran, Haiti, Senegal, and Ivory Coast) with even the former FIFA president Sepp Blatter publicly supporting fan’s plans to boycott the tournament because of these issues. Many fans are also questioning FIFA’s neutrality in this with some arguing about the current FIFA president, Gianni Infantino’s close relationship with the president of the USA, Donald Trump even giving him a “FIFA peace prize” goes against the company’s human rights policies and their neutrality.
Personally, I am very excited to see how the boycotting and immigration problems work out over the upcoming months with the FIFA world cup being a loved tournament only happening every four years. It is always fun to watch the games live or in front of your TV. I really hope the controversies surrounding this year’s tournament get resolved before it’s too late with the new changes in the tournament. This is also the first time that multiple countries are hosting the world cup and it would be a shame for Canada’s and Mexico’s chances at hosting a loved world cup may not happen because of another country with most of the controversies surrounding the tournament being because of the US’s policies. Yet, even with the many things surrounding the tournament going on, I’m sure plenty of fans will gather to watch their team either play from afar, or right in front of them.