World Cup 2026 qualifying kicks off with Argentina vs Ecuador
September 7 – Tonight world champions Argentina will embark on the long road to the 2026 World Cup taking on Ecuador with South America leading the way in qualifying.
World Cup
AFC draw plots qualifying routes to 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup
July 27 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has held the draw for the first and second round World Cup 2026 qualifiers for the AFC’s potential nine slots at the expanded 48-team finals.
FIFA goes to market with media rights to CAF 2026 World Cup qualifying
July 26 – FIFA has issued an invitation to tender for centralised media rights to Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifying matches ahead of the largest CAF World Cup qualifying in history.
Poll of US fans finds New York New Jersey as preferred venue for 2026 World Cup final
July 20 – A survey of fans across the US has found that fans want to see New York New Jersey as the host for the World Cup 2026 Final at the MetLife Stadium.
FIFA warms up World Cup 2026 brand launch with #WeAre26 fan engagement campaign
May 12 – Ahead of the World Cup 2026 brand reveal in Los Angeles next week, FIFA has launched a campaign titled #WeAre26 to raise the profile of the event and host cities in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
Aussies scout talent for 2026: Alex Robertson opts to follow in family footsteps
April 4 – Alex Robertson, a box-to-box midfielder, has pledged his international allegiance to Australia despite representing England at both U17 and U18 levels.
Morocco join Iberian bid in power play for 2030 World Cup hosting
By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
March 15 – After no fewer than five failures, an unenviable record, Morocco believe they have finally found a way to stage the World Cup.
FIFA Council agrees four team 2026 group stage, boosting total World Cup matches to 104
By Samindra Kunti in Kigali, Rwanda
March 15 – The World Cup will never be quite the same again. FIFA and its council decided that the global finals must be seemingly endless, the 48-team finals have now grown into a group stage of four teams and a tournament of 104 matches, eight to reach the final. In all the competition will last six, or seven days longer.
Concacaf says the four winners of 2021-24 CCL will qualify for 32-team 2025 Club World Cup
March 15 – The winners of the four editions of the Concacaf Champions League – from 2021 to 2024 – will be the confederation’s four qualifiers for the first of the expanded versions of the Club World Cup in 2025.
Conference call: Renewed demand for FIFA to set up compensation fund for Qatar migrant workers
March 14 – On the eve of the FIFA Congress and president Gianni Infantino’s retaking of his vows in Kigali, Amnesty and a million petition signees have demanded FIFA compensate migrant workers who suffered human rights and labour abuses in Qatar.
Analysis: Are 104 games the way forward for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
March 13 – This week in Kigali, Rwanda, in and around its Congress, FIFA will discuss proposals to change the opening group stages of the 2026 World Cup from three to four teams. Mario Guajardo and Alex Krumer, business and economics professors at universities in Norway are specialists in studying formats and schedules for sports competitions. They analyse some of the options available to FIFA.
World Cup 2026: Four-team group format to be discussed by FIFA Council in Kigali
By Paul Nicholson
March 3 – FIFA is set to discuss a change to the planned first group stages for the expanded 2026 World Cup – increasing groups from three to four nations – at its next Council meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, later this month.
Conmebol quartet formalise their bid for 2030 World Cup, Bolivia could join them
February 7 – Will Bolivia join the South American quartet of Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay in their bid for the 2030 World Cup? Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez wants the Bolivians to be a part of the adventure.
Messi regrets disrespecting Dutch after World Cup penalty shoot-out win
January 31 – Lionel Messi says he regrets the exchanges he had with the Netherlands team during their controversial World Cup quarter-final in Qatar.
FIFA releases Qatar 2022 overview by numbers
January 19 – FIFA has released a set of numbers and significant achievements/records that were generated by their World Cup month in Qatar. Top of those numbers is the claim that 5 billion people engaged with the tournament.