Fifa has prepared 48 teams, 3 host countries, and more than 100 games for 2026. After putting on the smallest World Cup, FIFA is planning the biggest one yet. Afp 2022-12-20 DOHA has 48 teams, three host countries, and over 100 games. After putting on the smallest World Cup, FIFA is planning the biggest one yet. After the World Cup final on Sunday, everyone started thinking about 2026. The World Cup will be held for the first time in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Most likely, there will be 12 groups of four teams, and the top two teams and the best eight third-place teams will move on. That would mean 104 games instead of 64 in Qatar, and the finalist would have to play eight. For the finals, Qatar will have 16 stadiums instead of its usual eight.
FIFA prepares 48-team WC, eyes 2026
The number of teams will go from 32 to 48, which is four times as many as the last time the World Cup was held in the United States or Mexico. Since 2016, when he became president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino has made growing the World Cup a top priority. The World Cup has grown the most with the addition of 16 teams.
At the first tournament in 1930, there were 13 teams. From 1934 to 1978, there were 16, and in 1982, there were 24. The most help will come to Africa and Asia from having 48 teams. Africa will get nine qualifying spots instead of five, and Asia will almost reach eight (from 4.5 slots). Oceania, which usually qualifies through a tiebreaker, will automatically qualify.
Sunday Oliseh, who used to play soccer for Nigeria, said it was a blessing. Africa should send more people because the more people who play, the better their chances. It has a billion people living on it. My country is home to 200 million people. Europe will have 16 teams, up from 13 teams, and South America will have six teams. As hosts, Canada, the U.S., and Mexico will get three more spots for CONCACAF.
There are 11 sites in the US, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada. All US games take place at NFL stadiums. The final is expected to take place at either the $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles or the 82,000-seat MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. All games in the knockout rounds will take place in the U.S. FIFA is thinking about grouping teams together by region to cut down on travel. Infantino said earlier this year, “When we’re dealing with a big area like North America, we have to think about the fans and make sure teams play in groups.”
“For us it’s fascinating to see a bigger, larger World Cup.” The expanded African contingent is welcome news for some of the region’s powerhouses. Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria were all squeezed out of the Qatar finals during qualifiers.
“When you’re dealing with such a large region as North America we need to care about the fans and make sure that teams are playing in clusters, that fans and teams don’t have to travel crazy distances,” Infantino said earlier this year.
