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

[Japinat]

Well, many think that Mexico is just drugs, cartels and things like that...

I wonder if mexico would be an appropriate place to organize the world cup since they are a very insecure country:

“You could hear the shooting – huge blasts, so much noise,” said the Mexican businessman, who had planned to board a flight to the eastern city of San Luis Potosí.[/size]

source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/06/terror-cartel-violence-engulfs-mexican-city-el-chapo-son

reading the article, and just do more research that anyone can see that this type of news is very frequent in mexico, I can not understand why they are putting mexico to organize the world cup when they know the issue of crimes they have, I know that in every country in the world the number of crimes varies, but the difference between Mexico and other countries is that in Mexico they are dealing with drug crimes in which criminals already have evolved weapons and fight against the police, the brazil for example has this, they organized the world cup, but in brazil drug dealers stay in their territory, they have no power in the cities where the police are, whereas in mexico all institutions are corrupted by drug dealers

It's true that Mexico is currently facing a lot of issues with drug crimes and it's understandable that some people may be concerned about the country hosting an event as big as the World Cup. But we can't deny that Mexico is also a country with a lot of potentials and we should also look at the positive side. Hosting the World Cup can be a great opportunity for Mexico to show the world that they can organize a successful event and also to show that they're making progress in dealing with their issues.

One way to look at it is, hosting the World Cup can be a way for Mexico to show the world that they're taking a stand against drug crimes. Maybe the criminals will think twice about causing trouble during the World Cup, knowing that the whole world will be watching. It's also important to remember that the World Cup is not just about soccer, it's also about bringing people together and creating a sense of unity. So let's not just focus on the negative, let's also think about the positive impact the World Cup can have on Mexico.

If something bad happens during the event, moving the rest of the match to USA or Canada is still affordable.

@Slow death I believe that the authorities will do proper research, and will seek reassurances from Mexico’s government that they can organise the World Cup without any issue’s. Furthermore while it does looks risky to organise the World Cup there based on these stats, but I agree with @slapper that Mexico government will not want to ruin their image hence I have a feeling that the authorities may be tempted to give them the permission to host it.

I'll admit that I'm not an expert in this Mexican war against Drug Cartel but I can somehow say that these Drug Cartels won't touch any international games that will be hosted by their own country especially if the government is involved. Why? We all know that government is not their enemy, it's the rivalry between each cartel, so touching one of these games will be a no go zone for these cartels. Still though, can't risk anything like this especially when life is already at stake even if government will be assuring the people.

[1714624105]

1714624105

[freedomgo]

Well, many think that Mexico is just drugs, cartels and things like that...

I wonder if mexico would be an appropriate place to organize the world cup since they are a very insecure country:

“You could hear the shooting – huge blasts, so much noise,” said the Mexican businessman, who had planned to board a flight to the eastern city of San Luis Potosí.[/size]

source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/06/terror-cartel-violence-engulfs-mexican-city-el-chapo-son

reading the article, and just do more research that anyone can see that this type of news is very frequent in mexico, I can not understand why they are putting mexico to organize the world cup when they know the issue of crimes they have, I know that in every country in the world the number of crimes varies, but the difference between Mexico and other countries is that in Mexico they are dealing with drug crimes in which criminals already have evolved weapons and fight against the police, the brazil for example has this, they organized the world cup, but in brazil drug dealers stay in their territory, they have no power in the cities where the police are, whereas in mexico all institutions are corrupted by drug dealers

It's true that Mexico is currently facing a lot of issues with drug crimes and it's understandable that some people may be concerned about the country hosting an event as big as the World Cup. But we can't deny that Mexico is also a country with a lot of potentials and we should also look at the positive side. Hosting the World Cup can be a great opportunity for Mexico to show the world that they can organize a successful event and also to show that they're making progress in dealing with their issues.

One way to look at it is, hosting the World Cup can be a way for Mexico to show the world that they're taking a stand against drug crimes. Maybe the criminals will think twice about causing trouble during the World Cup, knowing that the whole world will be watching. It's also important to remember that the World Cup is not just about soccer, it's also about bringing people together and creating a sense of unity. So let's not just focus on the negative, let's also think about the positive impact the World Cup can have on Mexico.

If something bad happens during the event, moving the rest of the match to USA or Canada is still affordable.

@Slow death I believe that the authorities will do proper research, and will seek reassurances from Mexico’s government that they can organise the World Cup without any issue’s. Furthermore while it does looks risky to organise the World Cup there based on these stats, but I agree with @slapper that Mexico government will not want to ruin their image hence I have a feeling that the authorities may be tempted to give them the permission to host it.

I'll admit that I'm not an expert in this Mexican war against Drug Cartel but I can somehow say that these Drug Cartels won't touch any international games that will be hosted by their own country especially if the government is involved. Why? We all know that government is not their enemy, it's the rivalry between each cartel, so touching one of these games will be a no go zone for these cartels. Still though, can't risk anything like this especially when life is already at stake even if government will be assuring the people.

Also, these Mexican cartel won't be messing with any foreigners that will be around in their country during these games because surely, the respective nations will hunt them down and destroy each one of them until their whole business will turn into ash and I bet they don't want those things to happen. Besides, it's also their pride that their country will be hosting some of the World Cup games and they know that these things are rare.

[BIT-BENDER]

Well there is unrest in Mexico right now and my concern goes out to the Citizens of Mexico right now. The World Cup would be happen 2026 and that’s almost four years from now.

The FIFA World Cup would be hosted by Canada, USA and Mexico so this won’t be much of a problem and hopefully Mexico can have this unrest under control in no time.

[macson]

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Wednesday his government will consider Guzman's plea to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Mexico source: dailymail

After all what El Chapo’s gang did to Mexico from spreading drugs to killing innocent people and destroying public property, i don’t understand how the mexicain president is really considering to bring back that criminal to Mexico which everyone knows the situation of the prison there and controlled by whom just as the story of Pablo Escobar who built his own prison.
Fifa should really do something about the world cup in Mexico 2026 if the police couldn’t protect themselves and many other innocent people how they can do it when many football fans travel there to watch their favorite team, it’s totally unsecured country and it’s unfortunate that Fifa is only seeking for their interest and never cared about the innocent people. I hope they will change the three matches hosted by Mexico to be played in Canada or any other safe country.

Since it was announced that Mexico was one of the 3 countries that would host the World Cup 2026, i was immediately reminded of the bad conditions that still exist in Mexico.  the Sinaloa cartel is one to fear there and has a loyal following, even though El Chapo is still in the US.  Can FIFA cancel Mexico's participation in hosting the 2026 World Cup? Spectator safety is more important than money.

[slapper]

~snip~

Also, these Mexican cartel won't be messing with any foreigners that will be around in their country during these games because surely, the respective nations will hunt them down and destroy each one of them until their whole business will turn into ash and I bet they don't want those things to happen. Besides, it's also their pride that their country will be hosting some of the World Cup games and they know that these things are rare.

We admire Mexico's desire to make the World Cup a positive experience for foreign visitors, but we don't think it will be crime-free. During such a massive gathering, the Mexican government cannot manage crime. Remember that crime and violence exist in any country and take measures. Mexico has the right to handle its domestic affairs without outside influence

[rahmad2nd]

I'm sure, all countries that are one of the hosts in any world cup will prioritize the security of their country before the world cup is held. not only to maintain the good name of the country, but for the sake of security, the comfort of football fans from all over the world who visit the country to celebrate the event once every four years, Mexico is no exception.

and if Mexico is a country that is potentially dangerous for tourists visiting it, in this case the 2026 world cup. how is it possible, they were chosen to be one of the three countries chosen to host the world cup later. after all, the 2026 world cup event is still so far away. at least, there are more than 3 years for them to improve whether it's infrastructure, security, comfort and whatever the host will prepare properly. including, technical matters concerning the cartel and others.
After all, the 2022 world cup event which incidentally is in the middle east is safe and Qatar successfully held it. of course, I'm sure Mexico can do it too.

[nullama]

I'm sure, all countries that are one of the hosts in any world cup will prioritize the security of their country before the world cup is held. not only to maintain the good name of the country, but for the sake of security, the comfort of football fans from all over the world who visit the country to celebrate the event once every four years, Mexico is no exception.

and if Mexico is a country that is potentially dangerous for tourists visiting it, in this case the 2026 world cup. how is it possible, they were chosen to be one of the three countries chosen to host the world cup later. after all, the 2026 world cup event is still so far away. at least, there are more than 3 years for them to improve whether it's infrastructure, security, comfort and whatever the host will prepare properly. including, technical matters concerning the cartel and others.
After all, the 2022 world cup event which incidentally is in the middle east is safe and Qatar successfully held it. of course, I'm sure Mexico can do it too.

Mexico in general is quite alright to visit, at least much safer than Baltimore and Chicago in the US.

It will probably be an interesting world cup, because the games will be so far apart, and also the need to secure three different visas, for Mexico, US, and Canada.

Maybe some players will not be able to get some of those 3 visas.

[Sithara007]

Mexico in general is quite alright to visit, at least much safer than Baltimore and Chicago in the US.

It will probably be an interesting world cup, because the games will be so far apart, and also the need to secure three different visas, for Mexico, US, and Canada.

Maybe some players will not be able to get some of those 3 visas.

There will be more than 100 matches in total for FIFA 2026, and millions of fans will be attending the event. I am not sure how many matches Mexico will be hosting, but it will be an uphill task for the security forces to provide security for this huge number of people. Three of the Mexican cities will be hosting world cup matches - Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Out of these three, I am more worried about the last one, as it is close to the US border and home to some of the most feared Mexican drug cartels (Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Beltrán-Leyva Organization.etc).

[Strongkored]

The addition of the number of countries by 50% from before made FIFA have to make a lot of adjustments and there are several options that FIFA is currently considering, one of which is by dividing into 16 groups and each group consisting of 3 countries, but there is no certainty regarding all options, all are still under consideration but for sure the group phase will be the busiest times for the hosts

We already had a lengthy debate on this topic. Previously FIFA was planning to have 16 groups with 3 teams each, but now they are planning to have 12 groups with 4 teams each. But one negative from this is that the qualification gets complicated. For the round of 32, 24 of the teams will be 1st and 2nd placed teams from each group. But the selection criteria for the next 8 teams (out of the 12 third placed teams) is a bit tricky. Anyway, this expansion is a positive step from FIFA to give adequate representation to all the confederations.

It's just strange that FIFA has decided to add World Cup participants but hasn't yet decided on the format of the competition.
Even so, I agree that this addition is good to provide adequate references for all the confederation and will make the competition more competitive and for football lovers this will provide more spectacles because of the increase in the number of participants.

[coinerer]

Mexico in general is quite alright to visit, at least much safer than Baltimore and Chicago in the US.

It will probably be an interesting world cup, because the games will be so far apart, and also the need to secure three different visas, for Mexico, US, and Canada.

Maybe some players will not be able to get some of those 3 visas.

There will be more than 100 matches in total for FIFA 2026, and millions of fans will be attending the event. I am not sure how many matches Mexico will be hosting, but it will be an uphill task for the security forces to provide security for this huge number of people. Three of the Mexican cities will be hosting world cup matches - Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Out of these three, I am more worried about the last one, as it is close to the US border and home to some of the most feared Mexican drug cartels (Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Beltrán-Leyva Organization.etc).

Mexico is North America and they have the ability to host FIFA.  They can host fifa without any problem if they try  If Qatar can host FIFA in the desert, why can't Mexico? Yes it is a tough job to protect millions of viewers and players.  Law enforcement requires separate training.  But it's not just a difficult task for Mexico  It is a difficult task for the whole world. I don't think Mexico is ineligible for that

[Sithara007]

It's just strange that FIFA has decided to add World Cup participants but hasn't yet decided on the format of the competition.
Even so, I agree that this addition is good to provide adequate references for all the confederation and will make the competition more competitive and for football lovers this will provide more spectacles because of the increase in the number of participants.

Still almost 3 years remains for the competition and it is not surprising that the FIFA is yet to revise and finalize the format. Actually they had fixed the format, based on a 3 team per group setup, but after watching the games in Qatar 2022, they decided to go back to the previous format. And this is why the delay is there. But then for us it should not be a concern. We will get to watch the matches, irrespective of the format. And a lot of people are excited about the 2026 edition, because there will be a lot many new teams.

[Synchronice]

I'm still wondering how will they deal with the visas, especially when they are hosting it in three countries. The United States of America and Canada have very strict visa policies, especially the USA.
Imagine, when you apply for Canadian Visa to visit the match and then your favorite team is on the edge where it's doubtful whether it wins the next match or not but imagine it wins and then you have to apply for American Visa and so on. I remember Trump said that visas would still remain for the USA but they would proceed it quickly for applicants but I don't think it will be that easy.

Visa-free entries in Canada and the USA will cause a massive wave of emigrants and it will be a chaos. Maybe they'll create Schengen-like system for a while but a lot of people from non-EAA countries will miss the opportunity to watch the match from stadium.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

I'm still wondering how will they deal with the visas, especially when they are hosting it in three countries. The United States of America and Canada have very strict visa policies, especially the USA.
Imagine, when you apply for Canadian Visa to visit the match and then your favorite team is on the edge where it's doubtful whether it wins the next match or not but imagine it wins and then you have to apply for American Visa and so on. I remember Trump said that visas would still remain for the USA but they would proceed it quickly for applicants but I don't think it will be that easy.

Visa-free entries in Canada and the USA will cause a massive wave of emigrants and it will be a chaos. Maybe they'll create Schengen-like system for a while but a lot of people from non-EAA countries will miss the opportunity to watch the match from stadium.

Thus 3 countries planning will be fun for many people but definitely this is going to create alot of issues for visa policy as USA and Canada will never change their policies which are strict .
I think they are going to add come clause in visa for fifa as fans from all over the world will come to eatch their favourite teams and as a host country its their duty to cater all the fans and provide them with all the facilities and comfort . And that will help them to move in 3 countries easily with their teams.

[Leviathan.007]

Hosting the world for any country can be helpful for that country. Especially, in some cases, when it helps the country financially, hosting the world cup can definitely bring many people to that country and this will bring demand for the business in that country like hotels and restaurants, and other active businesses, but after hosting a world cup in middle est now it's for America to host the games which changes it geographically a lot, In last world cup hosting world cup didn't help Qatar to sue the chance for this time I think countries like Mexico will have more chance to perform better because of their hosting.

[LUCKMCFLY]

~snip~
I don't know how many people would agree with me, but IMO Qatar 2022 was a disaster. Obviously the Qataris were able to splash all their wealth and many of the westerners were in awe. But then, the fans were left high and dry with all the restrictions. What is the point in having a major tournament like this, if the fans can't relax and enjoy themselves? There was this last minute restrictions on alcoholic beverages. And the Qataris very cunningly announced it just two days before the first match, to make sure that all the fans have already booked their ticket. And then there was extreme discrimination against unmarried couples and LGBT people. I just hope that FIFA will never allow regressive countries such as Qatar to host such tournaments in the future.

Yeah, there were organizational issues, but the tournament itself, the football, was quite entertaining.

It was a great tournament, with lots of talented people, and many surprises.

I enjoyed watching it a lot.

It depends from which side are you looking at the World Cup 2022. If you watched it on a TV from your home, everything was great and most of the games were interesting. However I'm sure that fans that were stopped in the airport because they didn't get their visa on time. There was a situation where two guys payed almost $3000 for a game and airplane ticket to go to one game. One guy got his visa and the other guy didn't get it in time. The guy without a visa got stopped from entering a plane in Frankfurt, Germany and his friend didn't want to go alone. In the end not only have they lost $3000, they had to buy another plane ticket to get home from Frankfurt.

And then there were those discriminate situations where something that is normal in "our" world was forbidden in Qatar, but I won't go into that.

Well, from the point of view that people experienced different types of situations, it is something that did happen, but I also think that people who enter a country they don't know should at least read its rules, the things they like or the things they they should and should not be done, so we know that this country of Qatar is a country with very strict rules, and that one as a visitor must abide by the rules, so every person who wanted to do what they wanted cannot because they simply cannot Getting to do whatever is like going to a neighbor's house to give orders, when you already know that in that home there are rules and regulations to follow.

[armanda90]

I am come from Indonesia and due FIFA World Cup history my national team always failed reach qualify to final round in World Cup, due 16 countries added in FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States I hope have chance and opportunity with my country can play for the first time in FIFA World Cup.

I checked with Asian zone have added about 8 countries or national team will get automatic ticket playing for FIFA World Cup, will have bigger chance because our national team success qualify to Asian Cup in this years and I hope can success at qualify for
FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States will begin for several months later.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

~snip~
I don't know how many people would agree with me, but IMO Qatar 2022 was a disaster. Obviously the Qataris were able to splash all their wealth and many of the westerners were in awe. But then, the fans were left high and dry with all the restrictions. What is the point in having a major tournament like this, if the fans can't relax and enjoy themselves? There was this last minute restrictions on alcoholic beverages. And the Qataris very cunningly announced it just two days before the first match, to make sure that all the fans have already booked their ticket. And then there was extreme discrimination against unmarried couples and LGBT people. I just hope that FIFA will never allow regressive countries such as Qatar to host such tournaments in the future.

Yeah, there were organizational issues, but the tournament itself, the football, was quite entertaining.

It was a great tournament, with lots of talented people, and many surprises.

I enjoyed watching it a lot.

It depends from which side are you looking at the World Cup 2022. If you watched it on a TV from your home, everything was great and most of the games were interesting. However I'm sure that fans that were stopped in the airport because they didn't get their visa on time. There was a situation where two guys payed almost $3000 for a game and airplane ticket to go to one game. One guy got his visa and the other guy didn't get it in time. The guy without a visa got stopped from entering a plane in Frankfurt, Germany and his friend didn't want to go alone. In the end not only have they lost $3000, they had to buy another plane ticket to get home from Frankfurt.

And then there were those discriminate situations where something that is normal in "our" world was forbidden in Qatar, but I won't go into that.

Well, from the point of view that people experienced different types of situations, it is something that did happen, but I also think that people who enter a country they don't know should at least read its rules, the things they like or the things they they should and should not be done, so we know that this country of Qatar is a country with very strict rules, and that one as a visitor must abide by the rules, so every person who wanted to do what they wanted cannot because they simply cannot Getting to do whatever is like going to a neighbor's house to give orders, when you already know that in that home there are rules and regulations to follow.

You are definitely right, but I am also wondering, where does one get the rules of a country they just entered, to read?, is there a place in the airport where rules guiding the country is written for incoming tourists or immigrants to read and get themselves acquainted?
I think it would have been more appropriate to say that before anyone start making plans of moving or visiting another country, they should try to find out the rules that govern such a country, and make sure to write the rules down for themselves so that they can easily pick it up anytime and scan through it to remind themselves of one of two things they might have forgotten, most especially, for countries where rules are enforced with stringent order.

Though for me, it will take something really important for me to travel to a country where I am not comfortable with their rules.

[alegotardo]

Well, from the point of view that people experienced different types of situations, it is something that did happen, but I also think that people who enter a country they don't know should at least read its rules, the things they like or the things they they should and should not be done, so we know that this country of Qatar is a country with very strict rules, and that one as a visitor must abide by the rules, so every person who wanted to do what they wanted cannot because they simply cannot Getting to do whatever is like going to a neighbor's house to give orders, when you already know that in that home there are rules and regulations to follow.

I believe that the rules of the countries are not something to worry about in the 2026 World Cup.
First, because they must be much more flexible or tolerable than the rules that were imposed in the World Cup in Qatar.
Second, because in a world cup scenario and moment, the rules tend to be a little more flexible for visitors, as it would be very bad for countries if they strictly applied fines and prisons to each breach of their rules.

I did some research, and the most intriguing law I found was one for Canada that says it's illegal to make very large snowmen
So, specifically on the streets of the port city of Souris, on Prince Edward Island, no competition for the biggest snowman. Because on land on street corners snowmen cannot be more than 76.2 cm in height

[noormcs5]

This is the role of media in destroying a country's image just because of any incident that happened in that particular country. Same thing happens with Pakistan all the time , bad media coverage and wrong reporting unfact exaggeration makes any country an insecure country to live in .
All countries have their good and bad points and I am sure mexico is not just about drug cartels or criminals there will be  uch more than that and for fifa fans there will be much more to explore and experience.

Media should not relate this incident with the Mexico to host the FIFA world cup because of two reasons.

First, there is still four year before the world cup will be played and a bad security condition at this point, does not mean that there is no roam for improvement. Mexico can take measures to improve their law and order conditions and more importantly there will be more security deployed when the world cup matches will be in progress in Mexico and the risk of an unfortunate incident will be reduced a lot.

[freedomgo]

~snip~

Also, these Mexican cartel won't be messing with any foreigners that will be around in their country during these games because surely, the respective nations will hunt them down and destroy each one of them until their whole business will turn into ash and I bet they don't want those things to happen. Besides, it's also their pride that their country will be hosting some of the World Cup games and they know that these things are rare.

I agree that Mexico may not want foreigners to have a negative experience while visiting for the World Cup, but we also can't assume that they will be able to completely prevent any crime or violence from occurring. Additionally, the idea that the Mexican government would be able to control and prevent all crime during such a large event is unrealistic. It's important to remember that crime and violence exist in all countries and it's important for visitors to take necessary safety precautions. It's also important to note that Mexico has the right to handle its internal issues and it's not fair to assume that other countries should intervene

Yes, it is indeed unrealistic believing that the Mexican government can handle the situation well and prevent such things from occurring in the said event because they can't even handle the chaotic cartels inside their jurisdiction, what more about these said events? Well, I'm also one of the hundreds of thousands of people that is hoping that there won't be any chaos during these games.

It's also important to note that Mexico has the right to handle its internal issues and it's not fair to assume that other countries should intervene

If the issues are just an internal problem that are occurring almost every day, then indeed, the Mexico has every right to handle and solve the situation. But these things will change if there's an unfortunate event that a foreigner will be involved in such disaster, the countries will do everything on their power to intervene and to help solve the case as soon as possible. Truth is, this is not new anymore because there's a lot of documentaries about these stuffs.