MIAMI, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 4: FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy during FIFA World Cup 2026 Match … [+]
Earlier this month, FIFA held a live ceremony to announce the match schedule for the 2026 World Cup. The 104-game World Cup tournament will be held in Mexico, Canada and the United States and will last from June 11 until July 19. Here is what fans need to know about the tournament calendar.
The tournament will be played in sixteen host cities — two in Canada, three in Mexico, and eleven in the U.S. The cities are split into three different regions to help cut down on team travel time, although given the distances involved, travel will still be a central theme of this World Cup.
The Western Region comprises Vancouver, Seattle, the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The Central Region includes all three Mexican venues (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey) as well as Dallas, Houston and Kansas City. In the Eastern Region teams could be traveling as far north as Toronto and as far south as Miami, with Boston, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia and Atlanta in between.
Dallas will host nine games, the most of any host city. Atlanta, New York / New Jersey, and Los Angeles follow closely behind hosting eight games, while Guadalajara and Monterrey will be hosting the fewest — four.
The first game of the tournament will be held on Thursday, June 11th in Mexico City at the Estadio Azteca. The legendary Mexican stadium, which played host to finals in which both Pele and Maradona won, will once again be a centerpiece of a World Cup. Later that same day, the second game of the tournament will be played in Guadalajara.
The first games in Canada and the U.S. will be played the following day, June 12th, in Toronto and then Los Angeles. The rest of the 72 group stage games — more than the total games played in Qatar, 64 — will be completed by Saturday, June 27th.
MetLife Stadium will host the 2026 World Cup Final, mixing the glitz and glamor of the tournament … [+]
Fifteen of the sixteen host cities will host at least one knockout game, with Guadalajara being the only host to miss out. The AT&T Stadium in Dallas will host the most knockout games, with two Round of 32 games, one Round of 16 game and the first of the two semi-finals. The other semi-final will be in Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, and the third-place game will be at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be at the much-maligned MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Hosting the final is a big win for the Tri-State Area, as there was much speculation that the final would be in Dallas. In the end, the allure of New York City, and its favorable time zone won out.
Both Dallas and L.A. made no secret that they wished to host the final, with L.A. also stating interest in hosting the opening game. Neither has gotten what they wanted although both will play a central role in the tournament. While Dallas was appeased by receiving the most games in the tournament, L.A. gets the honor of hosting the first game on U.S. soil and the first and third U.S. men’s national team games.
As reported by The Athletic, the schedule for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was due to be released in September of 2023. That release date was postponed until the end of 2023. In the end it came in February of 2024, a reflection of decisions being made somewhat last minute.
FIFA is taking all the responsibility for planning this World Cup. It is the first time there is no national organizing committee, and it seems to be stretching soccer’s governing body thin. FIFA is in the midst of staffing its Coral Gables facility which is set to be its stateside headquarters through 2026. The 60,000 square foot facility has enough space to mount a sizeable operation, but at the time of writing, there are still many positions open including roles of high importance like Director of Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Director, Sustainability & Human Rights, Head of Environment, Head of Personnel and Facilities Security and Head of Communications.
With so many roles of importance yet to be filled, it can be no surprise that decisions of great importance are being made last minute. Moreover, unlike the last two editions of the tournament which were held in countries with authoritarian regimes, the planning for this tournament requires the participation of layers of stakeholders including, billionaire stadium owners, state and local governments, host city legacy committees as well as other soccer organizations.
There is no getting around the fact that despite regional scheduling, this tournament poses serious environmental concerns. The U.S. men’s national team will play its first and third matches in L.A. with a match in Seattle in between. This means the team — and presumably a large number of its fans — will travel over 1,100 miles twice in a matter of several days. With almost no realistic mass transportation available between North American cities, air travel will need to be heavily relied upon for this tournament.
Moreover, the sheer amount of games (104) means that there will inherently be more travel, and thereby greenhouse gas emissions, than at any previous tournament. Some host cities have as many as six days between games. For some tourists this may mean a chance to relax and enjoy the city before the next game, however, for many this will open the door to traveling to one or several other host cities.
Part of the joy of a global celebration like the World Cup is experiencing new places and sharing in different cultures. It would be unfair to expect fans to eschew the chance to travel to games, but questions still need to be asked about the organization of this tournament and if it was the right moment to simultaneously expand the number of nations competing in it and increase the territory across which it will be played.
Parking lots and tailgates will be a common sight at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
On a local level, most of the cities involved in hosting these games lack adequate public transportation to and from the stadiums. Fans coming from across the world will need to be prepared for extreme gameday traffic and stadiums with massive parking lots and limited access to modes of transport that are not cars.
Finally, this tournament will be held in the traditional World Cup window of June and July. This puts the 2026 FIFA World Cup smack in the middle of the wildfire season, which has only worsened with the onset of climate change — blanketing both coasts last summer. It will also be the beginning of hurricane season and the influx of visitors could add extra water and resource stress to already taxed host cities
With just two years until the tournament kicks off, there is still lots of work to be done to make sure the 2026 FIFA World Cup goes off without a hitch.
