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

[retreat]

For me that is not even the main point: for some people it may be fair, for others it may be wrong, I think the main reason they do it is to avoid broader problems because let's say Russia qualified to the World Cup, it would be a complicate situation to manage not only for the players but for the fans too because there may be protests, clashes, and even injured/killed people. So I can understand that. What I don't understand is the different treatment depending on the country we are talking about. That is completely unfair.

This is why I don't really like FIFA right now because they are always looking for excuses that they don't want to get too involved in geopolitical issues, whereas they themselves often take decisions that have political nuances by adopting double standards in supporting sanctions against certain countries while remaining silent about similar violations committed by other countries. If they had a stand, then they should be able to take a firm stance against Israel, but because the majority of FIFA member countries are reluctant to put pressure on Israel due to geopolitical pressure and western influence, they prefer to look away.

[Lida93]

I heard same too that people are reselling tickets to another there by making more money from the sell and FIFA is allowing that to happen it’s very bad because it will make the ticket very costly and someone can just decide to buy many tickets and then start selling it huge amount of money there by making those that bought it late to pay higher amount for it. I heard all ticket has been sold out and this now make sense now to be honest those that bought all those tickets very fast are the once selling it back to people in bigger amount and because is World Cup people won’t have option but to buy.
FIFA is more concerned in the money they will make and forget that people are coming to watch live because they just want to support their country.

As bad as it sounds yet there is nothing FIFA can do at the moment because the world cup event is such a prestigious event filled with stars and at such would attract millions of people all over the world and in such situation its very much obvious that the ticket racketeering would be on the rise which could in turn impact the competition negatively before the official kick off.

[Slow death]

Do you guys see this? FIFA president says he might lift Russia's ban. If that's gonna be true, doesn't he also force UEFA to lift the ban for Russia as well? So we can expect an interest conflict between FIFA and UEFA. I personally hope won't happen caused by we're getting closer to the WC 2026. It won't be good to have another serious conflict that may disrupt the competition.

I can only guess FIFA consider it caused by they were not banning Israel. So they're thinking to also lift the ban for russia. I also see a lot of people are against this idea, but it sounds partially right.

I've heard even AFC already voted no for russia to join there. I think the better to leave them still on the list of banned country.

Honestly, that was a very unfortunate comment on his part, and I'm not shocked by it because he seems to be the type of person who only thinks about money and not about ethics or following rules. Take the case of the USA, for example; even if Trump does extreme things, the FIFA president says nothing because he's focused on money. Fortunately, his term ends next year, and I hope the next FIFA president will be someone committed to the rules and not just the money.

[hyudien]

As bad as it sounds yet there is nothing FIFA can do at the moment because the world cup event is such a prestigious event filled with stars and at such would attract millions of people all over the world and in such situation its very much obvious that the ticket racketeering would be on the rise which could in turn impact the competition negatively before the official kick off.

It is too complicated to make FIFA sell tickets fairly, in the sense that fair means that there are no ticket brokers who will take advantage of selling tickets illegally for profit, in an event of this size there are many factors, sometimes there can be games from insiders or other factors, so we cannot expect not to find tickets at high prices from the original price, FIFA can only minimize such incidents from happening, but with all the tickets that have been sold out, what can make, FIFA cannot do much.

[famososMuertos]

::///:::

Honestly, that was a very unfortunate comment on his part, and I'm not shocked by it because he seems to be the type of person who only thinks about money and not about ethics or following rules. Take the case of the USA, for example; even if Trump does extreme things, the FIFA president says nothing because he's focused on money. Fortunately, his term ends next year, and I hope the next FIFA president will be someone committed to the rules and not just the money.

When you see things like that, it's reasonable to think it's a favor he hasn't repaid. As you rightly mention, his term is about to end, which is unusual at FIFA because These guys like to perpetuate themselves in power. Speaking of favors, how did he pull that award out of thin air and hand it to Donald Trump, as if trying to simulate the Nobel Peace Prize...(?)

[jostorres]

Do you guys see this? FIFA president says he might lift Russia's ban. If that's gonna be true, doesn't he also force UEFA to lift the ban for Russia as well? So we can expect an interest conflict between FIFA and UEFA. I personally hope won't happen caused by we're getting closer to the WC 2026. It won't be good to have another serious conflict that may disrupt the competition.

I can only guess FIFA consider it caused by they were not banning Israel. So they're thinking to also lift the ban for russia. I also see a lot of people are against this idea, but it sounds partially right.

I've heard even AFC already voted no for russia to join there. I think the better to leave them still on the list of banned country.

We know the current streak of who will be doing World Cup for a while. We know this summer it will be USA, Canada, Mexico and we know that 2030 will be Spain, Portugal and Morocco and in 2034 it is expected it's also Saudi Arabia as well.

Normally there is a continental rule, where they decide which continent is getting it, but right now there are possibilities that we are not going to have much left by 2038 and he might want to make Russia a candidate for it if possible. I know it is not going to make it work that easily, but 2038 is long way to go, we are talking about literally 12 years later, who knows what happens by then. It could be all out nuke war or it could be all over, so we have no clue what will happen.

[Pumared]

Recently, a news story came out about Brazil's official jersey, and I found it quite strange. I wanted to know your opinion on official team jerseys? Should they have elements that reflect the country's culture, or should they be entirely focused on football, like references to national football stars, for example?

source: https://mantosdofutebol.com.br/2026/02/colecao-selecao-brasileira-copa-2026-vaza-visual-psicodelico/

[Dump3er]

Do you guys see this? FIFA president says he might lift Russia's ban. If that's gonna be true, doesn't he also force UEFA to lift the ban for Russia as well? So we can expect an interest conflict between FIFA and UEFA. I personally hope won't happen caused by we're getting closer to the WC 2026. It won't be good to have another serious conflict that may disrupt the competition.

I can only guess FIFA consider it caused by they were not banning Israel. So they're thinking to also lift the ban for russia. I also see a lot of people are against this idea, but it sounds partially right.

I've heard even AFC already voted no for russia to join there. I think the better to leave them still on the list of banned country.

FIFA and UEFA are two completely different organizations and as far as I know, the FIFA is by no means an authority to the UEFA. It is desirable that they communicate and coordinate for obvious reasons because nobody is interested n two bodies having different rule sets, but when it comes to fundamental decisions like allowing Russia's participation, I think they act independently.

I don't want to get too much into politics here as quite obviously people are confusing things on naive levels. Israel attacked a terror organization that attacked Israel. Which terror organization does Russia attack that attacked Russia first? 

[Akbarkoe]

Recently, a news story came out about Brazil's official jersey, and I found it quite strange. I wanted to know your opinion on official team jerseys? Should they have elements that reflect the country's culture, or should they be entirely focused on football, like references to national football stars, for example?

source: https://mantosdofutebol.com.br/2026/02/colecao-selecao-brasileira-copa-2026-vaza-visual-psicodelico/

This is an international event where the country will be known by what it brings to the field, adding ornaments to the jersey that represent culture is a form of marketing for the country and luring tourists so that they are curious about the country, this is a good strategy of course in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with it and it is also a form of official identity because it includes cultural elements.
As for the second option, it's not really necessary because Brazil has been very well known since the duo and their references are very clear without having to do it that way.

[Ale88]

Honestly, that was a very unfortunate comment on his part, and I'm not shocked by it because he seems to be the type of person who only thinks about money and not about ethics or following rules. Take the case of the USA, for example; even if Trump does extreme things, the FIFA president says nothing because he's focused on money. Fortunately, his term ends next year, and I hope the next FIFA president will be someone committed to the rules and not just the money.

Mmm, we are talking about the president of one of the most corrupted federations in the world, are you really surprised he doesn't give a damn about anyone and he's only in for the money? We are talking about the same guy who made up a prize as gift to Donald Trump and let Qatar host a World Cup. And he even got the Qatari citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes. Blatter, Infantino, they are all the same, don't expect anything good from this people. They are just politicians for the sport at the end.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Mmm, we are talking about the president of one of the most corrupted federations in the world, are you really surprised he doesn't give a damn about anyone and he's only in for the money? We are talking about the same guy who made up a prize as gift to Donald Trump and let Qatar host a World Cup. And he even got the Qatari citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes. Blatter, Infantino, they are all the same, don't expect anything good from this people. They are just politicians for the sport at the end.

.I believe that when politics is discussed even here in the forum , things get tainted, whether it's Trump or whoever. For me, FIFA used to be much more corrupt than it is now What interests me is that the World Cup we're going to experience is much better than Qatar's The important thing here is football, any prizes they invent or anything else that's just to maintain Diplomacy and increase investment in football , but that the Sport , Football itself , isn't tarnished.

[imamusma]

Mmm, we are talking about the president of one of the most corrupted federations in the world, are you really surprised he doesn't give a damn about anyone and he's only in for the money? We are talking about the same guy who made up a prize as gift to Donald Trump and let Qatar host a World Cup. And he even got the Qatari citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes. Blatter, Infantino, they are all the same, don't expect anything good from this people. They are just politicians for the sport at the end.

.I believe that when politics is discussed even here in the forum , things get tainted, whether it's Trump or whoever. For me, FIFA used to be much more corrupt than it is now What interests me is that the World Cup we're going to experience is much better than Qatar's The important thing here is football, any prizes they invent or anything else that's just to maintain Diplomacy and increase investment in football , but that the Sport , Football itself , isn't tarnished.

We hope the 2026 World Cup will be held as expected, attracting more attention due to the changed competition format, and, of course, even better than previous World Cups. With the World Cup approaching, the FIFA President will undoubtedly want to ensure security and stability by building harmonious relationships with all parties. However, we certainly hope this will not tarnish football itself, regardless of anyone interests.

[Unknown01]

As a European, I would also like to briefly add my two cents on the subject. Soccer is huge in Europe  and whether it's the Champions League, the European Cup, or the World Cup we always try to watch all the games. Sometimes we meet up with friends somewhere to have a drink and watch the match, but that won't happen very often during this year's World Cup because the times the games are scheduled are a disaster for us. It's not just for  me but almost all of my friends. I don't think FIFA will be happy with the viewing figures.

[BitBakerr1]

I heard same too that people are reselling tickets to another there by making more money from the sell and FIFA is allowing that to happen it’s very bad because it will make the ticket very costly and someone can just decide to buy many tickets and then start selling it huge amount of money there by making those that bought it late to pay higher amount for it. I heard all ticket has been sold out and this now make sense now to be honest those that bought all those tickets very fast are the once selling it back to people in bigger amount and because is World Cup people won’t have option but to buy.
FIFA is more concerned in the money they will make and forget that people are coming to watch live because they just want to support their country.

As bad as it sounds yet there is nothing FIFA can do at the moment because the world cup event is such a prestigious event filled with stars and at such would attract millions of people all over the world and in such situation its very much obvious that the ticket racketeering would be on the rise which could in turn impact the competition negatively before the official kick off.

Yes, FIFA cannot do anything about the matter anymore because they have already started selling tickets and there’s no way they can reduce the price anymore because if they reduce the price others that have already bought will agitate and ask FIFA to return some percent of their money and I believe that will be difficult for them to do so since they have been selling it at that amount they can never return it back or reduce it however FIFA should not do this anymore in the next World Cup because the price of ticket in this World Cup is costly and is not supposed to be so, I know that there are many stars playing in the World Cup and a lot of people would like to watch them play but the major reason why people are paying for that ticket is because they want to support their country not actually to watch those stars because I believe they watch them in club footbal.

[cande86]

Mmm, we are talking about the president of one of the most corrupted federations in the world, are you really surprised he doesn't give a damn about anyone and he's only in for the money? We are talking about the same guy who made up a prize as gift to Donald Trump and let Qatar host a World Cup. And he even got the Qatari citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes. Blatter, Infantino, they are all the same, don't expect anything good from this people. They are just politicians for the sport at the end.

Ye, in fact, the corruption in these environments is palpable, it's in the air, and I'm no longer surprised by anything, they are people who only want to earn money, they are only there for the money, that situation of the World Cup in Qatar was disgusting to say the least, they managed to ruin the most important competition in the world, thanks to their agreements!

[JeffBrad12]

I heard same too that people are reselling tickets to another there by making more money from the sell and FIFA is allowing that to happen it’s very bad because it will make the ticket very costly and someone can just decide to buy many tickets and then start selling it huge amount of money there by making those that bought it late to pay higher amount for it. I heard all ticket has been sold out and this now make sense now to be honest those that bought all those tickets very fast are the once selling it back to people in bigger amount and because is World Cup people won’t have option but to buy.
FIFA is more concerned in the money they will make and forget that people are coming to watch live because they just want to support their country.

As bad as it sounds yet there is nothing FIFA can do at the moment because the world cup event is such a prestigious event filled with stars and at such would attract millions of people all over the world and in such situation its very much obvious that the ticket racketeering would be on the rise which could in turn impact the competition negatively before the official kick off.

It's FIFA who charged both resellers and buyers 15% for the reselling ticket fees. How can you say FIFA can do nothing? If they were not money oriented, the fees should be deducted. They're also still being considered as a non profit organization. Charging non sense fees is just the same as stealing.
Seeing FIFA becomes a scalper for their own event is just so pathetic. 

[Ale88]

As a European, I would also like to briefly add my two cents on the subject. Soccer is huge in Europe  and whether it's the Champions League, the European Cup, or the World Cup we always try to watch all the games. Sometimes we meet up with friends somewhere to have a drink and watch the match, but that won't happen very often during this year's World Cup because the times the games are scheduled are a disaster for us. It's not just for  me but almost all of my friends. I don't think FIFA will be happy with the viewing figures.

I don't think the time difference is a big problem, especially for the games played on the East Coast. We had the 2002 World Cup and Korean and Japan, I remember there were games played in the morning or at noon (Central Europe time), when kids were at school and adults were working... One time you get good hours and the other you don't because it's somebody else's turn to be lucky.

[giorgione]

Yes, FIFA cannot do anything about the matter anymore because they have already started selling tickets and there?s no way they can reduce the price anymore because if they reduce the price others that have already bought will agitate and ask FIFA to return some percent of their money and I believe that will be difficult for them to do so since they have been selling it at that amount they can never return it back or reduce it however FIFA should not do this anymore in the next World Cup because the price of ticket in this World Cup is costly and is not supposed to be so, I know that there are many stars playing in the World Cup and a lot of people would like to watch them play but the major reason why people are paying for that ticket is because they want to support their country not actually to watch those stars because I believe they watch them in club footbal.

FIFA has every interest in selling all the tickets and this is something that has never changed, the federation has always made sure to have the possibility of selling them all, obviously the prices are adjustable based on where the people are, it is clear that the ticket cannot cost a lot even if they come from very far away, but those who can afford it spend it and that's how it is.

[Dump3er]

FIFA has every interest in selling all the tickets and this is something that has never changed, the federation has always made sure to have the possibility of selling them all, obviously the prices are adjustable based on where the people are, it is clear that the ticket cannot cost a lot even if they come from very far away, but those who can afford it spend it and that's how it is.

Ticket sales for the biggest football events are run via applications long before the event actually takes place. As far as I know neither the FIFA nor the UEFA nor any other association ever ran into demand shortage and therefore could not get rid of their tickets. Demand is always bigger than supply and this is why the black markets are booming so much. Those tickets for international events sell at crazy rates on those markets and there has been massive discussion how to get that under control.

As for the ticket prices set by the FIFA, I think there are 4 categories and the prices are the same all around the world for those categories. I don't think the prices vary from country to country.

[retreat]

I don't understand that whether most Americans are so nationalistic or they are just like frogs in a well that most of them say that the NFL is bigger than the World Cup Final. I mean, I understand that the NFL is the most beloved sport in the US, and everyone understands that they call it their "football". But let's just be more realistic that football fans are much bigger than the NFL. I don't want to compare the two sports but it's just that this debate continues on online platforms and so many people say that the NFL is bigger than the World Cup Final which I find a bit ridiculous.

Why America Thinks the Super Bowl is Bigger Than the World Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Kch-OVGto