World Cup 2026: FIFA confirms new 104-game format in USA, Canada & Mexico

The Athletic sports News Journal a Manchester-based newspaper revealed the new system for the 2026 World Cup, which is to be held in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico. FIFA is reportedly set to confirm a revised format for the 2026 World Cup that will see the competition extended to 104 games staged across 39 days. World football’s governing body will hold a council meeting in the Rwandan capital of Kigali on Tuesday, with FIFA’s annual congress taking place later this week. It has, according to The Athletic, been determined that scheduling changes need to be made for a flagship event that will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Athletic sports News Journal indicated that the tournament will already see 48 teams involved for the first time, but further tinkering is being made to the format. It was originally suggested that there would be 16 groups of three, with the top two in each section progressing to the round of 32. That approach would have delivered 80 fixtures – up from 64. FIFA also decided to limit the preparation period for the tournament from 23 days for the national teams to 16 days, to increase the tournament days to 39 days instead of 28, as happened in Qatar 2022.