FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[Zlantann]

People will be planning to move to USA in 2026 and they won't come back that is for sure. I am sure many people will escape in America and Canada.

If people can afford flight tickets to the USA and packages to watch the world cup matches, then for sure they can afford regular visa to the US as well. But the problem is that the immigration system is completely broken out there. Millions of illegal immigrants in their caravans can cross the border without any issue, but those who apply legally need to wait for many years before they get a chance of visa hearing (especially those from India and China). Already there are close to 12 million illegals (politically correct terms is "unauthorized immigrants" or "undocumented immigrants") residing in the United States and any addition to this number will be like a drop in the bucket.

Many people would certainly use the world cup hosting opportunity to migrate to the US, Canada, and even Mexico. These countries might also need workers that would add to the manpower they already have. Migrating to the US and Canada currently is very difficult because of so many guidelines and requirements but the world cup would give many that uncommon opportunity.

As you rightly pointed out the American immigration system is promoting illegal immigration because of its policies. In my country, the US embassy has a backlog of applicants that they would process till 2024. So if you apply for an American Visa this year, you would be interviewed in 2025. This has made many people seek risky illegal routes through the Mexican border.

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[Sithara007]

People who move to the United States illegally as refugees do it because they are seeking for a better life, keeping that in mind, I agree with you.
Most of the Mexican and South Americans that will go the USA because the World Cup will be people with money without need to move out desperation, most of them will go back to their respective countries after the football party.

The border is crossed irregularly everyday and most people won't wait for World Cup to do so.

Well. My question is this:

Why enforce all this useless restrictions and backlog for getting a US visa, when millions of illegal immigrants can easily cross the border?

Anyone who want to attend the world cup need to go through this frustrating process and there is no guarantee that they will get a visa. Either enforce the restrictions to both the groups (legal and illegal migrants), or remove the restrictions. Under the current system, those who go through the legal route are being punished and those who do it illegally are being rewarded.

[Silberman]

South American (CONMEBOL) FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers already started with some drama:

As you can see, instead of the usual 4.5 slots, they will now have 6.5 slots, that is 6 teams will directly qualify to the world cup and the 7th place will have to go to the play offs to get a spot.

Interestingly though, you can see that Ecuador starts with -3 points. That's because:

Ecuador were deducted 3 points for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.

I find it very strange that FIFA ended up not doing anything for the previous world cup and letting Ecuador play, and only now they say that the player was ineligible.

That is just the way FIFA does things, FIFA has never liked to settle things that were decided on the field outside of it, personally I always thought the case against Ecuador had enough grounds to disqualified them from Qatar, but FIFA simply refused to do this and only now they are applying a symbolic sanction against them, however with the increase on the number of spots available to the next world cup I do not think this is going to be too much of a problem for Ecuador.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

People who move to the United States illegally as refugees do it because they are seeking for a better life, keeping that in mind, I agree with you.
Most of the Mexican and South Americans that will go the USA because the World Cup will be people with money without need to move out desperation, most of them will go back to their respective countries after the football party.

The border is crossed irregularly everyday and most people won't wait for World Cup to do so.

Well. My question is this:

Why enforce all this useless restrictions and backlog for getting a US visa, when millions of illegal immigrants can easily cross the border?

Anyone who want to attend the world cup need to go through this frustrating process and there is no guarantee that they will get a visa. Either enforce the restrictions to both the groups (legal and illegal migrants), or remove the restrictions. Under the current system, those who go through the legal route are being punished and those who do it illegally are being rewarded.

Those who migrate to US illegally stand the risk of being arrested if caught, i don't know how this turned to be rewarding for you, but yes, I agree with you that the restrictions and documentations required to legally enter US territory is way too hefty for most people, but the question now is --
Isn't this the number one reason why those who can not fulfill the required processes to enter US legally, have resorted to entering US illegally?

And my personal assumptions is that, US, being the world power probably does not want their territories to be over populated with immigrants, this could be the reason for the so strict requirements and documentation process to enter the country.

[noormcs5]

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People who move to the United States illegally as refugees do it because they are seeking for a better life, keeping that in mind, I agree with you.
Most of the Mexican and South Americans that will go the USA because the World Cup will be people with money without need to move out desperation, most of them will go back to their respective countries after the football party.

The border is crossed irregularly everyday and most people won't wait for World Cup to do so.

I guess we should not involve politics with the game. Lets hope that the fifa world cup will be played in best of spirit and there is no political and geographical tensions. Lets keep aside the things like border crossing and refuges etc.

I hope the fifa matches in Mexico will happen in peace too as they will happen in USA and Canada. And there will be everything regulated and no illegal border crossing.

[sovie]

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People who move to the United States illegally as refugees do it because they are seeking for a better life, keeping that in mind, I agree with you.
Most of the Mexican and South Americans that will go the USA because the World Cup will be people with money without need to move out desperation, most of them will go back to their respective countries after the football party.

The border is crossed irregularly everyday and most people won't wait for World Cup to do so.

I guess we should not involve politics with the game. Lets hope that the fifa world cup will be played in best of spirit and there is no political and geographical tensions. Lets keep aside the things like border crossing and refuges etc.

I hope the fifa matches in Mexico will happen in peace too as they will happen in USA and Canada. And there will be everything regulated and no illegal border crossing.

This year's World Cup in Qatar has been completed in a grand manner. Since the next World Cup will be held in three countries, it can be expected that the next World Cup will be organized with greater grandeur than this time. FIFA will use more budget for the next World Cup.

[Gozie51]

And my personal assumptions is that, US, being the world power probably does not want their territories to be over populated with immigrants, this could be the reason for the so strict requirements and documentation process to enter the country.

Your assumption may not be false but they have to be ready for more people that will troop in into the state in guise of coming to watch the next world cup. USA is a cherish country desirable by many to live in, so they have to expect that to happen. Among the three countries hosting the game, USA is hosting more of the games and that means more immigration of people to USA than Mexico and Canada.

[Zackgeno96]

I don't think it's optimal for the teams in terms of logistics. If you have to travel from the North of America to Mexico for a match, it has a lot of influence. I am not only talking about the travel time, but also about the difference in temperature. It is a nice initiative that they organize it in 3 countries, but far from ideal for players and teams. I assume that all top countries will qualify for the tournament without any problems. The advantage for Canada is that they have already qualified in this way because they are also an organizing country of the tournament. Mexico and the USA should normally be strong enough to qualify on their own.

[alegotardo]

I don't think it's optimal for the teams in terms of logistics. If you have to travel from the North of America to Mexico for a match, it has a lot of influence. I am not only talking about the travel time, but also about the difference in temperature. It is a nice initiative that they organize it in 3 countries, but far from ideal for players and teams. I assume that all top countries will qualify for the tournament without any problems. The advantage for Canada is that they have already qualified in this way because they are also an organizing country of the tournament. Mexico and the USA should normally be strong enough to qualify on their own.

In fact, this can be a big problem.
We have already had several cases where the difference in altitude made the performance of teams in the world cup very difficult.
About the temperature, who doesn't remember the games that were played in the middle of the Amazon rainforest in the World Cup hosted in Brazil? Extremely high temperatures and humidity.
Results? Two extra hydration breaks in each game and still extremely exhausted players.

I don't understand why they are hosting the cup in three countries. It's okay that they intend to increase the number of teams and that they need more space, but look what they did in Qatar: Games taking place practically side by side and everything worked out.

[nullama]

I don't think it's optimal for the teams in terms of logistics. If you have to travel from the North of America to Mexico for a match, it has a lot of influence. I am not only talking about the travel time, but also about the difference in temperature. It is a nice initiative that they organize it in 3 countries, but far from ideal for players and teams. I assume that all top countries will qualify for the tournament without any problems. The advantage for Canada is that they have already qualified in this way because they are also an organizing country of the tournament. Mexico and the USA should normally be strong enough to qualify on their own.

Yeah, going from very cold to very hot would be an issue.

There's also the fact that these places will have very different altitudes, so oxygen might be an issue. This is typical in South America when players go to Bolivia, which is very high, they tend to go a few days earlier to adapt their bodies to the altitude.

Yeah, not sure how well it's going to be, but at the end of the day, the vast majority of matches are going to happen in the US only anyway, so I guess many people will never actually go to the three countries.

[uneng]

I don't understand why they are hosting the cup in three countries. It's okay that they intend to increase the number of teams and that they need more space, but look what they did in Qatar: Games taking place practically side by side and everything worked out.

I also don't understand and I don't think it was a good idea. In my opinion it totally removes the glamour and protagonism of a country as the registered brand of the World Cup's edition. When we talk about previous World Cups it's nice to attach each of them to a different country, as the culture of the countries which host the event become a symbol of their respective editions. Now with Canada, USA and Mexico hosting a World Cup, all of them at once, it becomes a confusing event with no original and memorable traits at all. Maybe they did this to cut expenses for the hosts, so the costs are splitted between the three parts, but strange anyway.

[nullama]

~snip~
I also don't understand and I don't think it was a good idea. In my opinion it totally removes the glamour and protagonism of a country as the registered brand of the World Cup's edition. When we talk about previous World Cups it's nice to attach each of them to a different country, as the culture of the countries which host the event become a symbol of their respective editions. Now with Canada, USA and Mexico hosting a World Cup, all of them at once, it becomes a confusing event with no original and memorable traits at all. Maybe they did this to cut expenses for the hosts, so the costs are splitted between the three parts, but strange anyway.

It's not the first time that this was done though, Korea-Japan 2002 comes to mind, and it was quite successful without any major issues.

Now, this one will definitely be a step forward and will cover a vast amount of distance, plus a third country, so we'll see how it goes.

But in any case, almost all the games are going to be played in the USA, so only a minority of matches will be hosted in Canada and Mexico. This means that not everyone will have to travel to three countries.

[bitgov]

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I also don't understand and I don't think it was a good idea. In my opinion it totally removes the glamour and protagonism of a country as the registered brand of the World Cup's edition. When we talk about previous World Cups it's nice to attach each of them to a different country, as the culture of the countries which host the event become a symbol of their respective editions. Now with Canada, USA and Mexico hosting a World Cup, all of them at once, it becomes a confusing event with no original and memorable traits at all. Maybe they did this to cut expenses for the hosts, so the costs are splitted between the three parts, but strange anyway.

It's not the first time that this was done though, Korea-Japan 2002 comes to mind, and it was quite successful without any major issues.

Now, this one will definitely be a step forward and will cover a vast amount of distance, plus a third country, so we'll see how it goes.

But in any case, almost all the games are going to be played in the USA, so only a minority of matches will be hosted in Canada and Mexico. This means that not everyone will have to travel to three countries.

But how will the fans be able to get their visas?
the matches plan comes very close and fans have to make their arrangement ahead of it.
I think it will be a tough challenge for the people to get their visa

[348Judah]

Any reason why they decided to host the 2026 FIFA world cup in three different countries?

With this move, i personally think the experience wouldn't be as fun as the currently ended Qatar 2022 world cup, most especially for those that would want to travel to watch the match being played live, travelling back and forth between this countries for the sole purpose of watching a football match wouldn't just be stressful and would also consume a lot of money.

Anyways, we are looking forward to the game once again, ,may God keep each and every one of us alive till then so we could all share in the fun.

Though I don't know their actual criterias used in selecting a hosting country but i believe the kind of sweet experience with Qatar is ehat they could seek better more with any country they finally concluded on but it won't make much of fun using 3 countries for the world cup because at the end, it should be attributed to a particular country for hosting the finals, with this i think after the middle east should come the western region.

[MuffinMaster]

Any reason why they decided to host the 2026 FIFA world cup in three different countries?

With this move, i personally think the experience wouldn't be as fun as the currently ended Qatar 2022 world cup, most especially for those that would want to travel to watch the match being played live, travelling back and forth between this countries for the sole purpose of watching a football match wouldn't just be stressful and would also consume a lot of money.

Anyways, we are looking forward to the game once again, ,may God keep each and every one of us alive till then so we could all share in the fun.

Though I don't know their actual criterias used in selecting a hosting country but i believe the kind of sweet experience with Qatar is ehat they could seek better more with any country they finally concluded on but it won't make much of fun using 3 countries for the world cup because at the end, it should be attributed to a particular country for hosting the finals, with this i think after the middle east should come the western region.

As the FIFA World Cup progresses, every four years it continues to improve. The way Qatar hosted this year's FIFA World Cup is truly commendable. Perhaps there is considerable doubt that a single country can host a FIFA World Cup like this any more.

[Daniel91]

People who move to the United States illegally as refugees do it because they are seeking for a better life, keeping that in mind, I agree with you.
Most of the Mexican and South Americans that will go the USA because the World Cup will be people with money without need to move out desperation, most of them will go back to their respective countries after the football party.

The border is crossed irregularly everyday and most people won't wait for World Cup to do so.

Well. My question is this:

Why enforce all this useless restrictions and backlog for getting a US visa, when millions of illegal immigrants can easily cross the border?

Anyone who want to attend the world cup need to go through this frustrating process and there is no guarantee that they will get a visa. Either enforce the restrictions to both the groups (legal and illegal migrants), or remove the restrictions. Under the current system, those who go through the legal route are being punished and those who do it illegally are being rewarded.

I don't see what FIFA and the World Cup have to do with illegal immigration to America?
FIFA and the host country of the World Cup agree on the procedure for buying tickets and the arrival of fans, and this has nothing to do with illegal immigration, but with the organization of the World Cup in football.
For the host country of the World Cup in football and FIFA, the most important thing is that everything goes smoothly and that there are no security problems at the matches and around the stadium.
It all comes down to profit in the end, as always  

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Any reason why they decided to host the 2026 FIFA world cup in three different countries?

With this move, i personally think the experience wouldn't be as fun as the currently ended Qatar 2022 world cup, most especially for those that would want to travel to watch the match being played live, travelling back and forth between this countries for the sole purpose of watching a football match wouldn't just be stressful and would also consume a lot of money.

Anyways, we are looking forward to the game once again, ,may God keep each and every one of us alive till then so we could all share in the fun.

Though I don't know their actual criterias used in selecting a hosting country but i believe the kind of sweet experience with Qatar is ehat they could seek better more with any country they finally concluded on but it won't make much of fun using 3 countries for the world cup because at the end, it should be attributed to a particular country for hosting the finals, with this i think after the middle east should come the western region.

Indeed, I agree with you mate, the experience wont be as much fun as it would have been if they had hosted the 2026 world cup in one country like they have always done previously, most especially for those that would want to travel to watch the game live, now, they will be faced with the trouble of deciding which of the countries to go to, some might end up not even traveling as they might not want to miss any of the game play, and for them not to miss any of the game, they would have to be in this three countries, which is practically and logistically not possible.

[Theones]

Any reason why they decided to host the 2026 FIFA world cup in three different countries?

With this move, i personally think the experience wouldn't be as fun as the currently ended Qatar 2022 world cup, most especially for those that would want to travel to watch the match being played live, travelling back and forth between this countries for the sole purpose of watching a football match wouldn't just be stressful and would also consume a lot of money.

Anyways, we are looking forward to the game once again, ,may God keep each and every one of us alive till then so we could all share in the fun.

Though I don't know their actual criterias used in selecting a hosting country but i believe the kind of sweet experience with Qatar is ehat they could seek better more with any country they finally concluded on but it won't make much of fun using 3 countries for the world cup because at the end, it should be attributed to a particular country for hosting the finals, with this i think after the middle east should come the western region.

Indeed, I agree with you mate, the experience wont be as much fun as it would have been if they had hosted the 2026 world cup in one country like they have always done previously, most especially for those that would want to travel to watch the game live, now, they will be faced with the trouble of deciding which of the countries to go to, some might end up not even traveling as they might not want to miss any of the game play, and for them not to miss any of the game, they would have to be in this three countries, which is practically and logistically not possible.

apart from this - the visa approval will be an issue. I don't think so that would be much attractive thing to do.
Qatar is a tourist destination and getting Qatar visa is an easy thing. that is why So many fans came to watch the world cup.

[Hispo]

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I don't see what FIFA and the World Cup have to do with illegal immigration to America?

I believe it is relevant enough to mention it, since the US-Mexico border issue has been a hot topic in USA politics lately.
And Since these both countries would host such a big sport event in a few years, one cannot help to wonder how things will go in terms of security and law enforcement, so all people involved can have the chance to have a good time.

It would also depend on whoever will be in the position of power in USA in 2026.

One cannot ignore that the reputation of the host and the management of them could play an important role during the sale of tickets and packages.

[rdluffy]

I also don't understand and I don't think it was a good idea. In my opinion it totally removes the glamour and protagonism of a country as the registered brand of the World Cup's edition. When we talk about previous World Cups it's nice to attach each of them to a different country, as the culture of the countries which host the event become a symbol of their respective editions. Now with Canada, USA and Mexico hosting a World Cup, all of them at once, it becomes a confusing event with no original and memorable traits at all. Maybe they did this to cut expenses for the hosts, so the costs are splitted between the three parts, but strange anyway.

Wait until you see the application for 2030 hehehe, there's a good chance to have Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay hosting the World Cup, specially because it will be 100 years of World Cup, and the first one in 1930 was in Uruguay.
They even tried to include Colombia as 5th country, but Fifa rejected 

And the other application to host 2030 World Cup is are: Spain, Portugal and Ukraine.
They included Ukraine because of the war situation, this is a strong reason to Fifa consider the application even more.


I think it's a good idea to have 2 countries or even more hosting the World Cup because one country maybe don't have all the infrastructure to make the whole World Cup, and it helps football spreading in even more countries.
But my ideal of World Cup would be every 2 years instead of 4 and with 32 countries.