When and Where will be the next FIFA World Cup?
The 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup has concluded after a total of 64 games and 29 days of competition.
To catch you up on the next World Cup, here’s everything we know so far:
Since it takes four years to organise the FIFA Men’s World Cup, the next one won’t be until 2026. The exact dates of the tournament have not been announced by FIFA, but it will take place in the traditional June/July time frame.
There is good news for soccer fans: the return of major tournaments is coming up soon. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place in July of that year, and qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup will begin the following year.
In 2026, the World Cup will be held in three different North American countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Washington Post reports that it will be the first time the tournament has been held in North America since the United States hosted it in 1994.
The World Cup will double in size from 32 to 48 teams in 2026. The tournament’s original plan called for a different format for the first stage, with 16 groups of three teams and the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout stage, for a total of 80 games.
However, according to Front Office Sports, the organisers are mulling over whether or not to maintain 4-person groups and increase the total number of games to 104. According to this system, the top two teams from each group and eight of the bottom 12 teams would advance to the quarterfinals.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico are automatically entered into the World Cup 2026 because they are the hosts.
Each of the six continental confederations (Asian Football Confederation, Confederation of African Football, Confederation of South American Football, Oceania Football Confederation, Union of European Football Associations, and Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association of Football) will hold a qualifying tournament to determine the remaining 45 teams.
The South American Football Confederation will kick off qualifying in March 2023, ahead of the other confederations which have not yet announced their qualifying period dates.