FIFA expands 2026 World Cup again to create 104-game program

The 2026 World Cup was already set to earn up to $3 billion in ticket and hospitality sales for FIFA, and massively increase the tournament attendance record. That record was set in the United States in 1994 when 3.6 million spectators attended 52 games in a 24-team event.

After all these years, that's still the record with fewer teams and games

They can handle it

Adding about 1.5 million more tickets will also further fuel FIFA’s expected record revenue of at least $11 billion through 2026 from a tournament that will rely on using high-revenue NFL stadiums.

As I mentioned before how they can make a lot more money in America. As the NFL realized a long time ago when building their new mega-stadiums, not only is there a high capacity of seats, but also a lot of the stadium money comes from the expensive luxury suites that each costs in the tens of thousands of dollars per game (for the Super Bowl, that can rise to half a million per suite). That's why high-revenue NFL stadiums now have so many luxury suites

Although I still think the whole idea is ridiculous, I think that this plan is better than the original one where 1/3 of the teams would have only played 1 match. That would have been rubbish for the players and fans

7 weeks is a long time though. Fans are going to need deep pockets if their team goes deep, especially as they could well be zig-zagging across three enormous countries. And pretty much as soon as the final finishes the club season in Europe will be starting.

That said, I'm looking forward to it in a way. It's going to be enormous, immersive and very expensive.

The road to reaching the final 48 in the Americas is a long one. Minimum 3 games for every team that qualifies for the mega show on the Planet is sound thinking. FIFA 2026 World Cup - Here we come.

Infantino: "Today,I feel... my wallet bulging."

We don't need an expanded program. Money before the ball.

More money, richer officials, bigger bribes, and increased corruption. The fun never stops.

FIFA also plans to create another new competition starting annually in 2024 for continental champions.

Didn’t they try that already ? & wasn’t popular

As if they weren't making enough money.