• Next edition of the World Cup will be the first with 48 participating teams

• Hosting of the tournament will be divided between Canada, Mexico and USA

• Final will be played on 19 July, 2026

After the thrilling drama of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, thoughts have already turned to the next edition of the most prestigious football tournament on the planet.

The good news for fans is that this time the wait for the FIFA World Cup 26™ will be a little shorter.

In the northern hemisphere summer of 2026 there will be a new World Cup, which will have an increase in the number of participants and promises to be the biggest edition in history.

FIFA has prepared a summary of what is already known about the next instalment of the tournament.

The next World Cup will return to being played in the traditional period, between the months of June and July. The World Cup final date has been set as Sunday, 19 July, with the opening match due to take place on Thursday, 11 June.

The full match schedule was announced on Sunday, 4 February 2024, with New York New Jersey picked to host the final, and Mexico City's fabled Azteca chosen to stage the tournament's opening match.

The FIFA Council also unanimously made the decision to approve the proposed amendment to the World Cup 2026 group stage format from 16 groups of three, to 12 groups of four.

The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams from the groups will now progress to the round of 32. Hopefuls will now have to play eight games from group stage through to the final, rather than seven.

For the first time in history, the organisation of the biggest football tournament on the planet will be divided among three countries. In total, 16 cities will host matches. Most of them (11) are located in the USA: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and New York. The Mexican headquarters will be in Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City. Finally, the Canadian venues are Vancouver and Toronto. Read more about the host nations and cities for the 2026 World Cup.

Also for the first time, the 2026 World Cup will see the participation of 48 teams, 16 more than the last seven editions of the tournament since 1998. The division of places by continental confederations has already been defined:

AFC (Asia): Eight direct spots + one inter-confederation play-off place CAF (Africa): Nine direct spots + one inter-confederation play-off place Concacaf (North and Central America, plus the Caribbean): Six direct spots + two inter-confederation play-off places CONMEBOL (South America): Six direct spots + one inter-confederation play-off place OFC (Oceania): One direct spot + one inter-confederation play-off place UEFA (Europe): 16 direct spots

The three host countries will automatically qualify for the tournament, thus occupying three of the Concacaf slots.

Each continental confederation has the autonomy to define the competition model and the period of their qualifying tournaments. Hosts Canada, Mexico and USA are already confirmed as qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 26.

A total of 16 stadiums have been chosen to host the games, the most since Korea/Japan 2002, with some truly spectacular venues set to showcase the best in the beautiful game.

To receive information on how to apply for FIFA World Cup 26™ tickets, you can register your interest here. We will keep you up to date with the latest news and information regarding FIFA World Cup 26™ tickets straight to your mailbox.

The FIFA World Cup™ Trophy, the most widely recognised and prized sporting asset globally, was unveiled at the forefront of the FIFA World Cup 26™ Official Brand on Wednesday, 17 May 2023.