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

[Litzki1990]

-snip-

World Cup every two years sounds funny more than anything, the only reason why many teams try hard for the world cup is being every four years and this can make the world cup tournament very important but being every two years can change everything. Also, this won't suit the FIFA calendar to have a world cup every two years instead of four.

It's not good to want the World Cup to be held every two years because FIFA has determined from the start that the schedule for the World Cup is to be held every four years and with a gap of four years can make the World Cup a prestigious football event that is highly anticipated by all national football teams and fans around the world.
I laughed reading that statement and that is highly unlikely to happen.

FIFA itself has certain reasons and objectives with a schedule that is held every four years and this decision cannot be changed arbitrarily.

After one World Cup tournament is over, the next World Cup tournament is usually worked on. Organizing such a big tournament requires big planning along with huge amount of financial support which may be very challenging for the authority to manage in two years. If the number of new teams increases every year, it will take more time than usual to organize a tournament which will make it difficult for the management to control the tournament and if there is a continuous match for a long time then there will be a lot of pressure on the players thinking about all these things. Maybe the football world cup will be held every four years instead of every two years.

[harapan]

And the thing about Qatar is they spend money but they didn't get good results because in the end there are many people they were unhappy there in Qatar because of their Alcohol rules or because workers were killed there.
Just the chart and compare the money they spent and you can see the difference.
However one reason for increasing the hosting cost can be the inflation rate but the difference is still much more than other hosts, I'm sure America will spend less than this.

Qatar was never interested in making money from the world cup. I'm fact, no country that have ever hosted the world cup gave every made more than they invested in it. Everything is not about Money. Qatar wanted exposure. They wanted tobopen their world to the rest of the world. They have eyes on much bigger price, like hosting the Olympics and other Asian games.
They also have other prizes in mind like, tourism and the rest.
It was a strategic thing they did and so far it has worked. They have opened their football league up and players are willing to go there. They spent money they had for a long term investment and maybe in the short term you might not see the dividend, but it will be visible in the long run.

Besides they should be appluded for hosting a world cup without alcohol.  .
They gave everybody an experience with their clear eyes and not under the influence of alcohol.
Funny enough, it wasn't as if alcohol was not present in the country, just not in the stadiums and some other public places.

[slapper]

Yeah, one of the important things about the world cup is that it's held only every 4 years.

If it's done every year then it would be similar to other, less prestigious competitions.

The fact that you have to wait 4 years for it makes it an important event.

Also, professional players usually only get to play in maybe one or two world cups in their career, also making this a lifetime achievement.

I somewhat agree with the suggestion that the FIFA World Cup should be played only once every 4 years. I can understand the concern that international matches are getting overshadowed by club competitions nowadays. But the players prefer club matches, because they get the vast majority of their salary from the clubs. If they are forced to play more international matches, then many of these players will just retire from the national team and will focus on the league matches. Still we have a number of international competitions apart from the world cup, such as FIFA Confederations Cup, Olympics football competition, as well as regional competitions such as the Copa América and Euro Cup.

Okay, you make a good argument; it is about striking a balance between the many interests, right? Furthermore, the players' point of view must be taken into account. But let's be rationally skeptical for a second. The majority of players' pay comes from their clubs, yet there is no greater honor than playing for your country in the FIFA World Cup. No self-respecting athlete would risk that recognition for the sake of a few extra club games. This brings up an intriguing debate. The FIFA Confederations Cup and other regional tournaments may be perceived as watering down the prestige of the World Cup and the European Championship. However, they also help find and develop promising new talent. Spreading out these competitions over a longer period of time might help keep the World Cup's level of interest and enthusiasm high.

[Leviathan.007]

And the thing about Qatar is they spend money but they didn't get good results because in the end there are many people they were unhappy there in Qatar because of their Alcohol rules or because workers were killed there.
Just the chart and compare the money they spent and you can see the difference.
However one reason for increasing the hosting cost can be the inflation rate but the difference is still much more than other hosts, I'm sure America will spend less than this.

Qatar was never interested in making money from the world cup. I'm fact, no country that have ever hosted the world cup gave every made more than they invested in it. Everything is not about Money. Qatar wanted exposure. They wanted tobopen their world to the rest of the world. They have eyes on much bigger price, like hosting the Olympics and other Asian games.
They also have other prizes in mind like, tourism and the rest.
It was a strategic thing they did and so far it has worked. They have opened their football league up and players are willing to go there. They spent money they had for a long term investment and maybe in the short term you might not see the dividend, but it will be visible in the long run.

Besides they should be appluded for hosting a world cup without alcohol.  .
They gave everybody an experience with their clear eyes and not under the influence of alcohol.
Funny enough, it wasn't as if alcohol was not present in the country, just not in the stadiums and some other public places.

That's not just about alcohol or some other rules they make in Qatar but that's all about freedom they don't give their people, alcohol is just one example of it. When you visit a country they should respect you as someone who is visiting that country and taking freedom from people is disrespectful.
I think any country can make money from hosting the world from the visitors they come to that country and they will surely bring more demand into that country.

[swogerino]

And the thing about Qatar is they spend money but they didn't get good results because in the end there are many people they were unhappy there in Qatar because of their Alcohol rules or because workers were killed there.
Just the chart and compare the money they spent and you can see the difference.
However one reason for increasing the hosting cost can be the inflation rate but the difference is still much more than other hosts, I'm sure America will spend less than this.

Qatar was never interested in making money from the world cup. I'm fact, no country that have ever hosted the world cup gave every made more than they invested in it. Everything is not about Money. Qatar wanted exposure. They wanted tobopen their world to the rest of the world. They have eyes on much bigger price, like hosting the Olympics and other Asian games.
They also have other prizes in mind like, tourism and the rest.
It was a strategic thing they did and so far it has worked. They have opened their football league up and players are willing to go there. They spent money they had for a long term investment and maybe in the short term you might not see the dividend, but it will be visible in the long run.

Besides they should be appluded for hosting a world cup without alcohol.  .
They gave everybody an experience with their clear eyes and not under the influence of alcohol.
Funny enough, it wasn't as if alcohol was not present in the country, just not in the stadiums and some other public places.

That's not just about alcohol or some other rules they make in Qatar but that's all about freedom they don't give their people, alcohol is just one example of it. When you visit a country they should respect you as someone who is visiting that country and taking freedom from people is disrespectful.
I think any country can make money from hosting the world from the visitors they come to that country and they will surely bring more demand into that country.

Qatar was only shown in the media as not allowing alcohol but the people who were there of course had access to it,not straight away just after they learned how it works,they also ban the women who show their boobs yet they did nothing to punish the most famous fan of Croatia which kept showing her boobs during all the Croatia games.This to say that in any country there are some rules who are not applied when you are a foreigner and also Qatar knew this despite them being a very restrictive country toward the freedom of their citizens.

[tusandii]

It's not good to want the World Cup to be held every two years because FIFA has determined from the start that the schedule for the World Cup is to be held every four years and with a gap of four years can make the World Cup a prestigious football event that is highly anticipated by all national football teams and fans around the world.
I laughed reading that statement and that is highly unlikely to happen.

FIFA itself has certain reasons and objectives with a schedule that is held every four years and this decision cannot be changed arbitrarily.

I heard the news few years ago and it was a proposition from Arsene Wenger or it was supported by him, not sure. Anyway this was quite old and the idea seems to be abandoned. According to this article, having Men World Cup every 4 years and Women World Cup in between every 4 years might replace the initial proposition.

Yes but the idea is controversial among football fans and could lead to some bad talk.
If the initial provisions have gone well and smoothly, there is no need to change them because they may require changes in their entirety.

-snip-

World Cup every two years sounds funny more than anything, the only reason why many teams try hard for the world cup is being every four years and this can make the world cup tournament very important but being every two years can change everything. Also, this won't suit the FIFA calendar to have a world cup every two years instead of four.

It's not good to want the World Cup to be held every two years because FIFA has determined from the start that the schedule for the World Cup is to be held every four years and with a gap of four years can make the World Cup a prestigious football event that is highly anticipated by all national football teams and fans around the world.
I laughed reading that statement and that is highly unlikely to happen.

FIFA itself has certain reasons and objectives with a schedule that is held every four years and this decision cannot be changed arbitrarily.

After one World Cup tournament is over, the next World Cup tournament is usually worked on. Organizing such a big tournament requires big planning along with huge amount of financial support which may be very challenging for the authority to manage in two years. If the number of new teams increases every year, it will take more time than usual to organize a tournament which will make it difficult for the management to control the tournament and if there is a continuous match for a long time then there will be a lot of pressure on the players thinking about all these things. Maybe the football world cup will be held every four years instead of every two years.

It is true that the planning for the World Cup cannot be done in a short time and of course it takes quite a long time to make the perfect World Cup possible.
FIFA has worked well for every World Cup event and this success is also supported by careful planning so that we just accept whatever has become FIFA rules and policies.

[freedomgo]

And the thing about Qatar is they spend money but they didn't get good results because in the end there are many people they were unhappy there in Qatar because of their Alcohol rules or because workers were killed there.
Just the chart and compare the money they spent and you can see the difference.
However one reason for increasing the hosting cost can be the inflation rate but the difference is still much more than other hosts, I'm sure America will spend less than this.

Qatar was never interested in making money from the world cup. I'm fact, no country that have ever hosted the world cup gave every made more than they invested in it. Everything is not about Money. Qatar wanted exposure. They wanted tobopen their world to the rest of the world. They have eyes on much bigger price, like hosting the Olympics and other Asian games.
They also have other prizes in mind like, tourism and the rest.
It was a strategic thing they did and so far it has worked. They have opened their football league up and players are willing to go there. They spent money they had for a long term investment and maybe in the short term you might not see the dividend, but it will be visible in the long run.

Besides they should be appluded for hosting a world cup without alcohol.  .
They gave everybody an experience with their clear eyes and not under the influence of alcohol.
Funny enough, it wasn't as if alcohol was not present in the country, just not in the stadiums and some other public places.

That's not just about alcohol or some other rules they make in Qatar but that's all about freedom they don't give their people, alcohol is just one example of it. When you visit a country they should respect you as someone who is visiting that country and taking freedom from people is disrespectful.
I think any country can make money from hosting the world from the visitors they come to that country and they will surely bring more demand into that country.

Qatar was only shown in the media as not allowing alcohol but the people who were there of course had access to it,not straight away just after they learned how it works,they also ban the women who show their boobs yet they did nothing to punish the most famous fan of Croatia which kept showing her boobs during all the Croatia games.This to say that in any country there are some rules who are not applied when you are a foreigner and also Qatar knew this despite them being a very restrictive country toward the freedom of their citizens.

I don't know what to say when it comes to that kind of stuff but I think that before the World Cup began, I already expected and assumed that Qatar will be friendly enough and will cut the foreigners some slack as it will be safe to say that not all of them are knowledgeable enough to know what is prohibited in Qatar or in other Islamic countries.

I've already read about this, there are some instances that the citizens were mad because of the unconscious act made by the tourists but they cannot do anything about it as their own country is even turning a blind eye about what happened. The only thing the Qatar strongly enforced was banning of any addictive substance including alcohol and smoking.

[shogun47]

I don't know what to say when it comes to that kind of stuff but I think that before the World Cup began, I already expected and assumed that Qatar will be friendly enough and will cut the foreigners some slack as it will be safe to say that not all of them are knowledgeable enough to know what is prohibited in Qatar or in other Islamic countries.

I've already read about this, there are some instances that the citizens were mad because of the unconscious act made by the tourists but they cannot do anything about it as their own country is even turning a blind eye about what happened. The only thing the Qatar strongly enforced was banning of any addictive substance including alcohol and smoking.

I am all for a respectful approach to other religions or beliefs in general, but it should not be forgotten that it is not only the tourists from the Western World who either intentionally or even unintentionally violate some laws or customs, it is also people with Muslim beliefs who are free to practice their religion in Western countries often times even when some of the stuff is not entirely legal. I think to shut one eye is not asking too much as this benefits everyone. Of course, if there are violations of the most important laws in a country, that is problematic, but those laws should still be in agreement with human rights conventions and that is where it gets problematic. But as far as I have heard at least the tourists felt mostly safe and comfortable for the time the World Cup took place.

[Slow death]

But I don't think FIFA is not nursing such ideas because there has been no such announcement from the organization and no reputable sports media house has reported such a move.

You don't have to think my friend because the FIFA is indeed not thinking of materializing any of these ideas where they will change the schedule, I don't know where did this rumor or speculation came from but it is safe to say that it's somehow a fake news and that the FIFA calendar will remain as it is for a couple of years or maybe even decades.

I tried to looked it up in the internet for me to see if these speculations were true or not but I did not find anything related to it or at least with similar topics.

I was already wondering if with the current model of 4 years we will ever see many countries organizing the world cup, because in 40 years there are only 10 world cups, the ideal would be for fifa to reduce it to 3 years, something that it would allow to maintain the quality of the organization and prestige of the world cup and it would also be more rotating, that is more countries could organize the world cup, in 15 years we would already have 5 world cups which means that in 15 years many countries would have organized the cup in the world, that would be a good thing because many countries would make an effort to be able to organize it, but what has been happening today and that has an interval of many years, has few national teams

and the countries that have a great budget and that win to organize the world cup and on the days of the games the transmissions of the games on tv are restricted which becomes a great absurdity, fifa has become a greedy organization and without prestige, we can see uefa, there's the euro and there's the champions league that happens every year and even so it hasn't lost prestige, so this clearly shows that it's possible to have a world cup every 3 years and have prestige as long as people from fifa change your criteria for choosing countries, don't keep thinking about the country that proposes to spend more money only

[Sithara007]

Okay, you make a good argument; it is about striking a balance between the many interests, right? Furthermore, the players' point of view must be taken into account. But let's be rationally skeptical for a second. The majority of players' pay comes from their clubs, yet there is no greater honor than playing for your country in the FIFA World Cup. No self-respecting athlete would risk that recognition for the sake of a few extra club games. This brings up an intriguing debate. The FIFA Confederations Cup and other regional tournaments may be perceived as watering down the prestige of the World Cup and the European Championship. However, they also help find and develop promising new talent. Spreading out these competitions over a longer period of time might help keep the World Cup's level of interest and enthusiasm high.

Well.. I don't want to change the current setup. Right now, the world cup is being played every 4 years, and most of the regional competitions are being played with shorter intervals. This should continue IMO. I am a big supporter of the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 countries, and I am of the opinion that it will further popularize football. But any attempt to reduce the interval between two events to two years need to be opposed. In this case, I agree with the clubs. Playing world cup every two years may prove counterproductive.

[Leviathan.007]

Okay, you make a good argument; it is about striking a balance between the many interests, right? Furthermore, the players' point of view must be taken into account. But let's be rationally skeptical for a second. The majority of players' pay comes from their clubs, yet there is no greater honor than playing for your country in the FIFA World Cup. No self-respecting athlete would risk that recognition for the sake of a few extra club games. This brings up an intriguing debate. The FIFA Confederations Cup and other regional tournaments may be perceived as watering down the prestige of the World Cup and the European Championship. However, they also help find and develop promising new talent. Spreading out these competitions over a longer period of time might help keep the World Cup's level of interest and enthusiasm high.

Well.. I don't want to change the current setup. Right now, the world cup is being played every 4 years, and most of the regional competitions are being played with shorter intervals. This should continue IMO. I am a big supporter of the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 countries, and I am of the opinion that it will further popularize football. But any attempt to reduce the interval between two events to two years need to be opposed. In this case, I agree with the clubs. Playing world cup every two years may prove counterproductive.

Changing the rules something will not work, for example, if you have the world cup every two or three years it will definitely decrease the quality of the world cup and we all know it, also it will change the FIFA calendar and makes everything hard even for the leagues, but having more teams in the world cup is another story however I this even this will decrease the quality of the world cup because of having more weak countries in the world cup they should not in this tournament normally.

[Juggy777]

Okay, you make a good argument; it is about striking a balance between the many interests, right? Furthermore, the players' point of view must be taken into account. But let's be rationally skeptical for a second. The majority of players' pay comes from their clubs, yet there is no greater honor than playing for your country in the FIFA World Cup. No self-respecting athlete would risk that recognition for the sake of a few extra club games. This brings up an intriguing debate. The FIFA Confederations Cup and other regional tournaments may be perceived as watering down the prestige of the World Cup and the European Championship. However, they also help find and develop promising new talent. Spreading out these competitions over a longer period of time might help keep the World Cup's level of interest and enthusiasm high.

Well.. I don't want to change the current setup. Right now, the world cup is being played every 4 years, and most of the regional competitions are being played with shorter intervals. This should continue IMO. I am a big supporter of the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 countries, and I am of the opinion that it will further popularize football. But any attempt to reduce the interval between two events to two years need to be opposed. In this case, I agree with the clubs. Playing world cup every two years may prove counterproductive.

Changing the rules something will not work, for example, if you have the world cup every two or three years it will definitely decrease the quality of the world cup and we all know it, also it will change the FIFA calendar and makes everything hard even for the leagues, but having more teams in the world cup is another story however I this even this will decrease the quality of the world cup because of having more weak countries in the world cup they should not in this tournament normally.

@Leviathan.007 I too oppose the World Cup being played every two years because it’ll ruin it’s vibe and take away it’s charm which comes after the long wait. Furthermore if the duration is short many athletes may suffer burnout due to so many games being played in such a short duration and I won’t be surprised if some of them decide to skip it all together because the World Cup would have clearly lost it’s charm.

[bitgolden]

After one World Cup tournament is over, the next World Cup tournament is usually worked on. Organizing such a big tournament requires big planning along with huge amount of financial support which may be very challenging for the authority to manage in two years. If the number of new teams increases every year, it will take more time than usual to organize a tournament which will make it difficult for the management to control the tournament and if there is a continuous match for a long time then there will be a lot of pressure on the players thinking about all these things. Maybe the football world cup will be held every four years instead of every two years.

It takes longer than 4 years, we have known that this world cup will be held at this place before the last one was even played, why? Because we would love to see nations get a lot more ready for something like this. I feel like this is going to be pretty amazing, we are going to get so much more entertainment here without a doubt.

I do not know how long it takes to rebuild stadiums, because we are not going to really just tore down a whole stadium to build a new one or even need that (which can still be done) or build a whole new one, but I am pretty sure that 4 years is enough of a time, now 3 years left of course. There is a new stadium in Las Vegas that took 2 billion dollars to build, I wonder if there will be any games at all there, would love to see the final there.

[shogun47]

After one World Cup tournament is over, the next World Cup tournament is usually worked on. Organizing such a big tournament requires big planning along with huge amount of financial support which may be very challenging for the authority to manage in two years. If the number of new teams increases every year, it will take more time than usual to organize a tournament which will make it difficult for the management to control the tournament and if there is a continuous match for a long time then there will be a lot of pressure on the players thinking about all these things. Maybe the football world cup will be held every four years instead of every two years.

It takes longer than 4 years, we have known that this world cup will be held at this place before the last one was even played, why? Because we would love to see nations get a lot more ready for something like this. I feel like this is going to be pretty amazing, we are going to get so much more entertainment here without a doubt.

I do not know how long it takes to rebuild stadiums, because we are not going to really just tore down a whole stadium to build a new one or even need that (which can still be done) or build a whole new one, but I am pretty sure that 4 years is enough of a time, now 3 years left of course. There is a new stadium in Las Vegas that took 2 billion dollars to build, I wonder if there will be any games at all there, would love to see the final there.

The saddest part about all the preparations for these World Cup events and also other big events is that so many resources have to be invested into preventing terrorism attacks. The resources going into security research and implementation are a significant share of the total investment. Regrettable that the world can't just live and be in peace, but that is sadly an integral part of our lives. I think this is a huge challenge for a multi-nation World Cup when all the boarders have to be protected and the inner security isn't limited to a small area like in Qatar, but across a whole continent or even two like North and South America.

[Silberman]

The saddest part about all the preparations for these World Cup events and also other big events is that so many resources have to be invested into preventing terrorism attacks. The resources going into security research and implementation are a significant share of the total investment. Regrettable that the world can't just live and be in peace, but that is sadly an integral part of our lives. I think this is a huge challenge for a multi-nation World Cup when all the boarders have to be protected and the inner security isn't limited to a small area like in Qatar, but across a whole continent or even two like North and South America.

Without a doubt this is very problematic, as I see on this world cup the raise of a new trend, which is world cups being hosted by many countries as a way to reduce the costs they have pay and to take the world cup to more countries at the same time, so from now on the challenges when it comes to maintaining the security of the world cup will only increase, as without a doubt as the most important sport event around the world it is bound to be targeted by all kind of criminals.

[Die_empty]

The saddest part about all the preparations for these World Cup events and also other big events is that so many resources have to be invested into preventing terrorism attacks. The resources going into security research and implementation are a significant share of the total investment. Regrettable that the world can't just live and be in peace, but that is sadly an integral part of our lives. I think this is a huge challenge for a multi-nation World Cup when all the boarders have to be protected and the inner security isn't limited to a small area like in Qatar, but across a whole continent or even two like North and South America.

Security is a very important aspect of the World Cup. Security took a large chunk of Qatar's $ 200 billion expenditure in the last world cup. A county like the US that has powerful enemies makes security even more important. The last terrorist attack in the US on September 11, 2001, has made the country invest more in security.

American borders are always difficult to protect from illegal immigrants but the country will beef up its internal security to ensure that there is no terrorist attack because the US is a major target of some of these extremist groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS. I am also optimistic that the Russia-Ukraine war would have ended before the world cup. This is because the support of Ukraine by the US and Canada can also pose a security threat.

[Volgastallion]

Its real fun to see we talking more about securitie, policies, and some other regulations things of related to the world cup more than the football and world cup itself. 

Yes i know qualifiers hasnt started yet and we dont have so much to talk, but i think its one of the first world cups talking so much about VISAS and security things. For me like i said before i want to wait a little bit more to know how they are gonna managed this.

[alegotardo]

Its real fun to see we talking more about securitie, policies, and some other regulations things of related to the world cup more than the football and world cup itself. 

Yes i know qualifiers hasnt started yet and we dont have so much to talk, but i think its one of the first world cups talking so much about VISAS and security things. For me like i said before i want to wait a little bit more to know how they are gonna managed this.

In fact, it seems football is taking a backseat to discussions on this topic.

But, taking advantage of the fact that you spoke about this subject, I would like to bring you some details about the South American qualifiers, which is certainly one of the regions that most of us are interested in.

Conmebol has already defined the entire calendar of games, in short there will be six rounds in 2023 (in the months of September, October and November), six in 2024 (also in September, October and November) and six more in 2025 (March, June and September).
We have ten teams that will face each other twice (round trip) and each country will play nine matches in their domains and nine matches as a visitor.

In the end, six of these teams will qualify to make up the 48 teams in the competition.

It's still too early to bet, but right now my guess is Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador.

[Sithara007]

✂✂
It's still too early to bet, but right now my guess is Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador.

Argentina still has to qualify despite being the defending champions? Anyway from your list, only Brazil and Argentina looks certain to me. Competition is extremely strong in CONMEBOL qualifiers. Upsets can always happen and last time it was Uruguay and Ecuador who managed to qualify apart from the two top teams. Colombia lost out and later tried their best to get Ecuador disqualified. Chile and Paraguay lost out as well, and they were also not too happy about it. Peru had a golden chance of qualifying, but they lost to Australia in the playoffs.

[hahay]

Its real fun to see we talking more about securitie, policies, and some other regulations things of related to the world cup more than the football and world cup itself. 

Yes i know qualifiers hasnt started yet and we dont have so much to talk, but i think its one of the first world cups talking so much about VISAS and security things. For me like i said before i want to wait a little bit more to know how they are gonna managed this.

It seems like, when they are going to hold a big event then of course, security is the top priority that must be considered. Thus, this big event can be run with extra security which is of course to make every spectator and supporter safer to watch and also be in the location. It would be very wrong if they did not prioritize security, and that way at least it is proven that the World Cup every time it is held looks fine, I guess. But with technology that continues to develop, then it should be their access can also be faster and maybe not complicated to apply.