April 22 – The FIFA World Cup 2026 poster competition has finally wrapped up with all 16 cities proudly displaying the winners of a month’s long process to design a poster that reflects their relationship with football and the World Cup.
While many posters have become iconic to die-hard football supporters, the jury is out on the 2026 selection and the artists who have poured their heart and souls, and perhaps a little AI, into their images.
Atlanta
Jose Hadathy was obviously inspired by peaches in his tribute to Georgia’s famous fruit featuring Atlanta landmarks. Subtlety wasn’t on the menu, but local pride certainly was.
Boston
John Rego’s psychedelic Bean Town fever dream looks like SpongeBob met a Thai mushroom omelette. Points for uniqueness, if not coherence.
Dallas
The “Big D,” Dallas features artist, Matt Cliff’s vision of a cowboy in full western attire performing an impossible bicycle kick beneath a star-filled Texas sky. Cultural stereotypes combined with acrobatics.
Guadalajara, Mexico City & Monterrey
Cuemanche’s trio of mezcal-inspired hallucinations capture Mexico’s vibrant energy. The designer clearly found the worm at the bottom of the bottle – three times.
Houston
“Houston, we have a problem.” Stephanie Leal has a Space-themed “problem” that belongs in orbit rather than on Earth. NASA might want to investigate this cosmic football anomaly.
Kansas City
While not the most likely destination for the World Cup, Kansas City artist, Jadie Arnett has demonstrated her fandom by creating a poster that feels a little like a 10-year-old football supporter’s scarf untitled “Woven Together.”
Los Angeles
A forgettable sunset over downtown LA that could double as default smartphone wallpaper. The ’94 Final host deserved better than this generic Thieb Delaporte-Richard cityscape.
Miami
Pink flamingos from Rubem Robierb, a Brazilian artist who may have never seen actual football. South Beach vibes trump sporting substance.
New York/New Jersey
The city that hosts the final had to incorporate the Statue of Liberty, however, Rich Tu, has avoided any Trumpian wrath by not including the famous saying, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”
Philadelphia
Nick McClintock blends pinball meets football in a chaotic design. Balls bounce everywhere like a soccer-themed arcade game gone haywire.
San Francisco
Artistic protest reflecting the city’s annoyance at hosting matches outside city limits. Passive-aggressive design at its fines by artist, LeRoid David who has seemingly produced a protest piece.
Seattle
I think that Shogo Ota, may have confused football with water polo. This waterlogged confusion feels more suitable for swimming competitions. Hemingway meets soccer in all the wrong ways. or perhaps he was channeling ‘Old Man and the Sea’. Either way he missed the mark.
Toronto
FIFA had an official explanation for David Murray’s design…
“The dynamic design emphasises the magnitude of the FIFA World Cup, its impact worldwide and soccer’s incredible potential for growth not only in Toronto but across the (greater Toronto area), Ontario and Canada. The grid behind the player represents our city streets and lines on a pitch, as well as the idea of a quilt to symbolise the collection of diverse people and neighbourhoods that come together to make our city special.”
Vancouver
Local artist, Jamin Zuroski, has gone minimalist to the point of suspicion. Either profoundly simple or simply unfinished – you decide.
Sixteen cities, sixteen posters, and it’ll be interesting to see how history judges them.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1745331558labto1745331558ofdlr1745331558owred1745331558isni@1745331558retsb1745331558ew.kc1745331558in1745331558