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The countdown to the biggest World Cup ever is on. A record number of nations will fight for the trophy this summer as the USA, Canada and Mexico host the first 48-team edition.
As with any major tournament, the host country – or trio of countries in this case – set the tone for the beautiful, maddening spectacle of football’s greatest stage. There will be 16 cities hosting games: 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.
Having been in the States over the last two summers, hosting the 2024 men’s Euros and 2025 Women’s Euros from the Fox Sports studios in LA, I’ve been able to see the gradual build-up to this year’s showpiece tournament.
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It surprised me how much interest there was in the Euros over there, considering the obvious: the US men’s national team weren’t involved. But with the popularity of “soccer” continuing to grow, when the superstars are in action, fans want a piece.
The US is a sports-obsessed nation and fandom is spread across multiple sports, so although football isn’t their number one, it’s now the country’s third most popular behind American football and basketball, and has become more mainstream than ever before.
This is the first time the World Cup is back in North America since the US were hosts in 1994, and the growth of soccer has been enormous since. As part of an agreement with FIFA to put on that tournament, Major League Soccer was established, beginning in 1996 with 10 teams. It has continued to expand, with the league celebrating its 30th anniversary, now with a total of 30 teams competing.
In that time, David Beckham arrived as a player and changed the landscape of MLS with his 2007 move to LA Galaxy. Zlatan Ibrahimovic followed suit in 2018 after leaving Manchester United, and more recently, Lionel Messi’s switch to Inter Miami in 2023 has drawn even greater attention, shirt sales and viewership in America.
Women’s football is also highly popular, with the US women’s team the most successful in history, having been crowned world champions four times. Under Emma Hayes, they’ll be one of the favourites for next year’s tournament in Brazil.
While hosting the men’s Euros, the Copa America was taking place in the US at the same time and I was fortunate enough to use one of my days off to check out a game. Venezuela and Mexico were playing at the SoFi Stadium in LA – also a venue this summer – and over 72,000 fans packed into the impressive arena. I’ve been fortunate enough to work at some of the best stadiums around Europe, and the SoFi is right up there with the greatest.
Last year, the Club World Cup was in the States and seen as a bit of a warm-up for this year’s event, though in all honesty they can’t be compared. There was little advertising and a feeling in some host cities that the public didn’t know much about it. Games weren’t always shown in bars either, as they clashed with the Major League Baseball season, ice hockey’s Stanley Cup finals and the NBA finals.
Again, that will be a different story this June and July with Fox Sports as US host broadcasters, which means games will be shown on network TV. If the three host nations can perform well, prepare for the attraction to be ramped up even further. Boosted by extra support and home advantage, having the USA, Canada and Mexico start the tournament strongly would make for an electric atmosphere.
The Super Bowl is without doubt the biggest sporting event in the US, but with football being a global sport, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the World Cup will be like having a Super Bowl every single game. The US knows how to put on an event, and this is the biggest of them all.
On a visit back to LA in March, large, vibrant banners were starting to go up around the airport reading “Los Angeles welcomes you as host of FIFA World Cup 2026” – the first signs that when the time comes, there will be no escaping the crazy, gripping, emotional entertainment. There was a feeling there that the anticipation was simmering away, as the final countdown to football’s biggest celebration begins.
