Football fans are in for a treat over the next couple of years, with the upcoming calendar packed with major club and international tournaments. There will be plenty of focus on North America as it prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Club World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments in 2025 will serve as useful warm-up events for the World Cup organisers. With that in mind, read on as we look at the preparations for the 2026 World Cup, starting with FIFA’s plans for broadcasting the tournament worldwide.
FIFA has invited tenders for the media rights to the next two editions of the World Cup, and they will decide which organisations are best placed to meet their broadcast requirements. The governing body also offers broadcasters the right to secure the rights to air the 2025 editions of the Club World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
At the time of writing (October 2024), only a handful of broadcast deals have been agreed. However, many of the companies who screened the 2022 World Cup will likely retain their rights.
The broadcasters for the tournament in Qatar were as follows:
Albania – RTSH
Armenia – ARMTV
Australia – SBS
Austria – ORF
Azerbaijan – İTV
Belarus – BTRC
Belgium – VRT, RTBF
Bolivia – Unitel
Bosnia and Herzegovina – BHRT
Brazil – TV Globo, SporTV
Bulgaria – BNT
Canada – CTV, TSN, RDS
Caribbean – International Media Content, SportsMax
China – CCTV
Colombia – Caracol Television – RCN Television – Win Sports
Costa Rica – Teletica
Croatia – HRT
Cyprus – CyBC
Czech Republic – CT
Denmark – DR – TV 2
Estonia – ERR
Europe – European Broadcasting Union (37 countries)
Finland – Yle, MTV3
France – TF1, beIN SPORTS
Germany – ARD, ZDF, Deutsche Telekom
Guatemala – TV Azteca, Tigo Sports
Greece – ANT1
Georgia – GPB
Hong Kong – PCCW
Hungary – MTVA
Iceland – RUV
India – Viacom18
Indonesia – RCTI, MNCTV, iNews
Ireland – RTE
Israel – IPBC
Italy – RAI
Japan – NHK General TV, Fuji Television, Nippon Television, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo
Kosovo – RTK
Latvia – LTV
Lithuania – LRT
Luxembourg – RTL Group
Malta – PBS
Mexico – Televisa, Sky México, TUDN, TV Azteca
Middle East and North Africa – beIN SPORTS
Moldova – TRM
Montenegro – RTCG
Netherlands – NOS
New Zealand – Sky Sport
North Macedonia – MRT
Pakistan – PTV Sports
Peru – Latina
Poland – TVP
Portugal – RTP
Romania – TVR
Russia – Perviy Kanal, VGTRK, Match TV
Serbia – RTS
Slovakia – RTVS
Spain – Mediapro
South Africa – SuperSport
Sub-Saharan Africa – SuperSport
Sweden – SVT, TV4
Switzerland – SRG SSR
Turkey – TRT
Ukraine – Suspilne
United Kingdom – BBC, ITV
United States – Fox, Telemundo, Universo
From a preparation point of view, the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup will play a key role in laying the foundations for a successful World Cup tournament the following year.
The US and Canada will host the tournament, which is scheduled to run from June 14 until July 6. The event is the men’s soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region.
The venues in the US are mainly in the western part of the country to avoid major scheduling conflicts with the Club World Cup. Sixteen international teams participate in the tournament which features a group stage followed by knockout rounds to determine the eventual winner.
The 2025 Club World Cup is scheduled to be played in the US from June 15 to July 13. It will be the first to be played under an expanded format with 32 clubs. The tournament will take place on the East Coast to be closer to European time zones for broadcast purposes and to avoid clashes with the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
FIFA has been widely criticised for expanding the tournament, with many clubs saying they have prioritised revenue generation over the health of players. The governing body has rejected those claims, saying the schedule for the Club World Cup was aligned with the FIFA international match calendar.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar set several new engagement records, and the expanded 2026 tournament is guaranteed to push things to another level. The final between Argentina and France achieved a global reach of around 1.5 billion viewers, a sizeable proportion of whom watched on live-streaming platforms.
With the majority of media rights for the next tournament yet to be awarded, fans will need to keep an eye on announcements from FIFA to determine where they can find live streams. However, the following outlets will likely be a good place to find live soccer streams for fans located in some of the most heavily populated jurisdictions worldwide:
United Kingdom – BBC, ITV
United States – Fox Sports, Telemundo
Canada – Bell Media
Australia – SBS
India – Viacom 18
Having successfully staged the 1994 World Cup, expectations are high on the US given they will be the primary hosts for the 2026 edition. They are scheduled to host three-quarters of the fixtures, but issues at the 2024 Copa America tournament have raised doubts about their ability to be World Cup hosts.
Ticketing chaos at the final has cast a shadow over their preparations, while security and pitch concerns raised by Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa have not helped matters.
The US also failed to cover themselves in glory on the pitch, making an early exit from the tournament which triggered a change in manager.
Mauricio Pochettino has been tasked with leading the US into the World Cup and he will be under immense pressure to ensure they do themselves justice on home soil.
While Mexico’s infrastructure is largely in place to host the World Cup, things are much less settled where the team is concerned. They failed to get out of a relatively favourable group at the 2024 Copa America, prompting the nation’s football bosses to turn to a former manager to take the team forward.
Javier Aguirre was named head coach of Mexico for a third time and will have former captain Rafael Marquez as his assistant. They have been tasked with getting a tune out of a squad which is in a transitional state and has less than two years to get them in tournament shape.
However, a 2-0 victory over the US in a friendly in October 2024 suggests Aguirre will have the team where it needs to be when the World Cup is staged.
Vancouver and Toronto will stage a combined 13 matches in stadiums which will undergo renovation work before the tournament gets underway. Improvements at BC Place and BMO Field will help to generate more revenue, thus providing additional economic benefits for each city.
A stellar run to the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America has ramped up expectations on the team and progressing to the knockout stage is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Manager Jesse Marsch has some talented players at his disposal, although the lack of a prolific goalscorer is a major cause for concern. Despite this, Canada will be eager to demonstrate the progress they made at Copa America was no fluke by at least making it beyond the opening phase at the World Cup.
Here are the host cities, stadiums, dates and fixtures for the 2026 World Cup:
June 15, 2026: Group stage
June 18, 2026: Group stage
June 21, 2026: Group stage
June 24, 2026: Group stage
June 27, 2026: Group stage
July 1, 2026: Round of 32
July 7, 2026: Round of 16
July 15, 2026: Semi-final
June 13, 2026: Group stage
June 16, 2026: Group stage
June 19, 2026: Group stage
June 23, 2026: Group stage
June 26, 2026: Group stage
June 29, 2026: Round of 32
July 9, 2026: Quarter-final
June 14, 2026: Group stage
June 17, 2026: Group stage
June 22, 2026: Group stage
June 25, 2026: Group stage
June 27, 2026: Group stage
June 30, 2026: Round of 32
July 3, 2026: Round of 32
July 6, 2026: Round of 16
July 14, 2026: Semi-final
June 14, 2026: Group stage
June 17, 2026: Group stage
June 20, 2026: Group stage
June 23, 2026: Group stage
June 26, 2026: Group stage
June 29, 2026: Round of 32
July 4, 2026: Round of 16
June 16, 2026: Group stage
June 20, 2026: Group stage
June 25, 2026: Group stage
June 27, 2026: Group stage
July 3, 2026: Round of 32
July 11, 2026: Quarter-final
June 12, 2026: USMNT group stage
June 15, 2026: Group stage
June 18, 2026: Group stage
June 21, 2026: Group stage
June 25, 2026: USMNT group stage
June 28, 2026: Round of 32
July 2, 2026: Round of 32
July 10, 2026: Quarter-final
June 15, 2026: Group stage
June 21, 2026: Group stage
June 24, 2026: Group stage
June 27, 2026: Group stage
July 3, 2026: Round of 32
July 11, 2026: Quarter-final
July 18, 2026: Third place play-off
June 13, 2026: Group stage
June 16, 2026: Group stage
June 22, 2026: Group stage
June 25, 2026: Group stage
June 27, 2026: Group stage
June 30, 2026: Round of 32
July 5, 2026: Round of 16
July 19, 2026: World Cup Final
June 14, 2026: Group stage
June 19, 2026: Group stage
June 22, 2026: Group stage
June 25, 2026: Group stage
June 27, 2026: Group stage
July 4, 2026: Round of 16
June 13, 2026: Group stage
June 16, 2026: Group stage
June 19, 2026: Group stage
June 22, 2026: Group stage
June 25, 2026: Group stage
July 1, 2026: Round of 32
June 15, 2026: Group stage
June 19, 2026: USMNT group stage
June 24, 2026: Group stage
June 26, 2026: Group stage
July 1, 2026: Round of 32
July 6, 2026: Round of 16
June 11, 2026: Group stage
June 18, 2026: Mexico group stage
June 23, 2026: Group stage
June 26, 2026: Group stage
Estadio Azteca, Coyoacan
June 11, 2026: Mexico group stage
June 17, 2026: Group stage
June 24, 2026: Mexico group stage
June 30, 2026: Round of 32
July 5, 2026: Round of 16
June 14, 2026: Group stage
June 20, 2026: Group stage
June 24, 2026: Group stage
June 29, 2026: Round of 32
June 12, 2026: Canada group stage
June 17, 2026: Group stage
June 20, 2026: Group stage
June 23, 2026: Group stage
June 26, 2026: Group stage
July 2, 2026: Round of 32
June 13, 2026: Group stage
June 18, 2026: Canada group stage
June 21, 2026: Group stage
June 24, 2026: Canada group stage
June 26, 2026: Group stage
July 2, 2026: Round of 32
July 7, 2026: Round of 16
Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay, Spain and England are the only teams to have won the World Cup and the 2026 winner will likely come from that group.
Reigning champions Argentina will fancy their chances of going back-to-back, although their hopes could be hindered if Lionel Messi retires from international football. Brazil will also expect to make a deep run despite failing to get their hands on the prestigious trophy since emerging victorious in 2002.
Spain appeal as the most likely winner from Europe’s contingent of teams given the way they triumphed at the 2024 European Championship in Germany. They deservedly beat England in the final – a result which led to Gareth Southgate finally stepping down as the Three Lions manager.
He has been replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who has won a plethora of silverware at club level in several major European leagues.
His track record of success will have England fans dreaming of glory, but it would be a brave move to think they have what it takes to overhaul football’s top nations.
Read More: Thomas Tuchel Named England Head Coach
Liverpool have continued their impressive start under new manager Arne Slot by winning seven of their eight Premier League matches and soaring to the top
Oxford United will be looking to continue their unbeaten home record intact when Derby visit Grenoble Road. Des Buckingham’s side have wins over Norwich, Preston
Chelsea have had an impressive start to their 2024-25 season under new head coach Enzo Maresca, and a lot of that has to be credited
This week, there’s a round-up of the Oxford United international players, an injury update from Des Buckingham and another home game without defeat. Oxford United
