The world’s most prestigious football (soccer to Americans) extravaganza will kick off on 11 June 2026. The quadrennial competition for the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be the first to be jointly hosted by three nations and will be spread across 16 stadiums in the US (11), Canada (2), and Mexico (3). It should be noted that FIFA awarded this tournament to the three host countries in 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term as US President, and that he would not normally be expected to host the event had he won the November 2020 election. The expanded contest-the biggest in World Cup history-will involve 48 teams, arranged into 12 groups of four each, in place of the usual 32. The contesting teams will compete in a total of 104 fixtures. The final is scheduled to take place on 19 July at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and will be complemented by a half-time musical show. All good thus far.
Unfortunately, the run-up to the 2026 World Cup tournament has been riddled with many concerns and controversies, mainly relating to America. Unlike the prevailing political situation in the US during the well-attended 1994 FIFA World Cup tournament, America under Trump is widely perceived to be somewhat less welcoming. Travel bans on overseas visitors from 39 countries, stringent visa application processes, exacting visa bond requirements, and the threat of potentially intimidating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policing of events are sending a message that not all visitors are welcome. Markwayne Mullin, US Homeland Security Secretary, has confirmed in a recent message, recorded on video, that ICE will be engaged each and every day of the tournament in “fighting against counterfeit tickets, human trafficking, drug smuggling, counterfeit products.” Given these concerns, some politicians, celebrities, and football officials had even called for an official boycott of the World Cup. Many countries have since issued travel advisories for citizens intending to visit the US for the tournament. Meanwhile, Andrew Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup since May 2025, remains upbeat about the prospects for a tournament in which America will be seen to be “welcoming the world.” Any experience he has gained from overseeing the somewhat flawed FIFA Club World Cup, between 14 June and 13 July 2025, should come in handy for the forthcoming tournament.
Adding to the pain for intending visitors are the high costs of travel (shuttle bus, train), hotel accommodation, and added local taxes, coupled with astronomical ticket prices from demand-driven “dynamic pricing”, high resale prices in secondary markets, and premium ticketing options. For paid-up customers, the misallocation of booked seats has been particularly disappointing. These factors could potentially compromise attendance figures and thereby the financial success of the tournament. The economic benefits of hosting the tournament may indeed fail to live up to expectations, as some are predicting. It must be noted, however, that no new infrastructure has been constructed specifically for the tournament and that existing stadiums have been temporarily rebranded to remove any visible references to corporate sponsors that have not been approved by FIFA.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a Trump ally who awarded the President the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” during the World Cup draw on 5 December 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, has attributed the exorbitant ticket prices to unconfirmed high levels of demand in an America accustomed to paying over the odds for major sporting events. Concerns over inflated ticket prices and the accuracy of seat allocations at the New York/New Jersey stadium have led New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport to subpoena FIFA on 27 May.
On 4 May, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), the largest hotel association in the US, released the FIFA World Cup 2026 Hotel Outlook, which “found that anticipated demand has not translated into strong hotel bookings and that domestic travellers are outpacing international visitors.” Lower than expected hotel occupancy rates, and room-block cancellations have led hotels to lower their prices in a desperate bird to attract last-minute custom. When it comes to a domestic audience, it must be remembered that soccer, although growing in popularity in the US, lags far behind the dominant spectator sports of American Football, baseball, and basketball.
The weather is another source of concern, which came to the fore during the Club World Cup. Extreme heat could possibly complicate matches in 14 of the 16 host cities. Around a quarter of all games could be played when wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) exceeds 260 C. According to the National Weather Service of the US, WBGT is a better predictor of environmental health stress in direct sunlight, as it combines together temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover. Under these circumstances, players will be expected to benefit from mandatory three-minute hydration breaks, 22 minutes into each half of every match.
The 2026 World Cup promises much exciting spectacle. The 39 days of footballing action will without entertain spectators, despite the particular challenges of hosting a major part of the tournament in the US. The great game of football can be relied upon to deliver, despite any shortcomings on the part of the major hosting nation. Most viewers, watching on television screens across the world, will be spared the potential tribulations of travel to President Trump’s America.
Ashis Banerjee