The 2026 FIFA World Cup will make history as the first edition of football’s biggest tournament to be hosted by three countries, with the United States, Mexico and Canada jointly staging the competition from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

According to FIFA, the expanded tournament will feature 48 teams for the first time, up from the traditional 32, marking a significant structural change in the competition’s format. The matches will be played across multiple cities in the three North American countries, making it the most geographically spread World Cup in history.

The United States will host the majority of the fixtures, including the final, while Mexico and Canada will also stage key group-stage and knockout matches. FIFA officials say the tri-nation hosting model is designed to maximize infrastructure use and expand the global reach of the tournament.

The 2026 edition comes at a time of growing global interest in football, with increasing commercial investment and audience expansion, particularly in North America where the sport has been steadily gaining popularity.

Football’s world governing body has also confirmed that the expanded format will introduce a new competition structure, including more group-stage matches and an extended knockout phase, aiming to give more nations the opportunity to participate on the world stage.

The tournament is expected to draw millions of fans across the three host countries, with organizers preparing large-scale logistical and security operations to manage what will be the largest World Cup ever held.

FIFA says the 2026 World Cup will mark a “new era” for international football, combining scale, accessibility and commercial growth in a format never seen before in the history of the competition.