2026 FIFA World Cup in the context of "United 2026 FIFA World Cup bid"

The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 World Cup by defeating France.

The contest starts with the qualification phase, which takes place over the preceding three years to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. In the tournament phase, 32 teams compete for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over the course of about a month. The host nation(s) automatically qualify for the group stage of the tournament. The competition is scheduled to expand to 48 teams, starting with the 2026 World Cup.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2010. It was the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, and the second in an Asian country after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

This tournament was the last with 32 participating teams, with the number of teams being increased to 48 for the 2026 World Cup. To avoid the extremes of Qatar's hot and humid climate in summers, the event was held in November and December, becoming the first one to take place outside the traditional months of May, June, and July. It was held over a reduced time frame of 29 days with 64 matches played in eight venues across five cities. Qatar entered the event—their first World Cup—automatically as the host's national team, alongside 31 teams determined by the qualification process.

AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Big 12 Championship Game, and the Southwest Classic. The stadium is one of 11 US venues set to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The facility, owned by the City of Arlington, has also been used for a variety of other activities, such as concerts, basketball games, soccer, college and high-school football contests, rodeos, motocross, Spartan Races and professional wrestling. It replaced the partially covered Texas Stadium, which served as the Cowboys' home from 1971 through the 2008 season.

The stadium is widely referred to as Jerry World after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who originally envisioned it as a large entertainment venue. The stadium seats 80,000 people, but can be reconfigured to hold over 100,000 people by the use of standing room, making it the largest stadium in the NFL by seating capacity. Additional attendance is made possible by the Party Pass (open areas) sections behind the seats in each end zone that are positioned on a series of six elevated platforms connected by stairways. The record attendance for an NFL regular season game was set in 2009 with a crowd of 105,121. It also has twin video boards that are among the largest high-definition video screens in the world.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was officially established on 8 February 1957 at the Grand Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan. The foundation followed a decision made at the 1954 FIFA Congress in Bern, Switzerland, where Africa was formally recognised as a football confederation.

Representing the African confederation of FIFA, CAF organises runs and regulates national team and club continental competitions annually or biennially such as the Africa Cup of Nations and Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which they control the prize money and broadcast rights to. CAF will be allocated 9 spots at the FIFA World Cup starting from 2026 and could have an opportunity of 10 spots with the addition of an intercontinental play-off tournament involving 6 teams to decide the last 2 FIFA World Cup places (46+2).

MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). It is also scheduled to host the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At an approximate cost of $1.6 billion, it was the most expensive stadium built in the United States at the time of its completion.

MetLife Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLVIII and multiple matches during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including both finals. It is the largest stadium in New Jersey with a capacity of over 82,000, along with being the largest venue in the NFL.

The United States men's national soccer team, simply known as USMNT and officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international soccer, which is governed by the United States Soccer Federation founded in 1913. It has been an affiliate member of FIFA since 1914 and a founding affiliate member of CONCACAF since 1961. Regionally, it is an affiliate member of NAFU in the North American Zone. From 1946 to 1961, it was a member of NAFC, the former governing soccer body in North America and a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF, and also a member of PFC, the former unified confederation of the Americas.

The United States has qualified for the FIFA World Cup twelve times, it is one of four CONCACAF teams to have advanced to the knockout stage, finishing in third place in 1930, reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 and also reaching the round of 16 in four editions. Their third place in Uruguay 1930 is the best result by a CONCACAF team in the competition and is the only non-European or South American team to achieve a World Cup podium finish. They returned in 1934 and 1950, defeating England 1–0 in the latter, but did not qualify again until 1990. As host in 1994, the U.S. received an automatic berth and lost to Brazil in the round of 16. They qualified for the next five World Cups, a feat shared with only seven other nations. In 2026, the United States will host the World Cup for the second time. It has qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup four times, finishing as runners-up in 2009, defeating top ranked European champions Spain 2–0 in the semifinal and losing to Brazil in the final, and also finishing in third place twice.

The Mexico national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de México) represents Mexico in men's international football, which is governed by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (English: Mexican Football Federation) founded in 1927. It has been an affiliate member of FIFA since 1929 and a founding affiliate member of CONCACAF since 1961. Regionally, it is an affiliate member of NAFU in the North American Zone.From 1946 to 1961, it was a member of NAFC, the former governing body of football in North America and a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF, and also a member of PFC, the former unified confederation of the Americas.

Mexico has qualified for the FIFA World Cup seventeen times and has qualified consecutively since 1994, making it one of six countries to do so. It is one of four CONCACAF teams to have advanced to the knockout stage, reaching the quarter-finals twice (1970 and 1986) both as hosts, and also reaching the round of 16 in seven editions. On 13 July 1930, Mexico played with France in the first match in World Cup history in Uruguay 1930. In 2026, Mexico will host the World Cup for the third time.It has qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup seven times, being the only CONCACAF team and the only non-European or South American team to have won a FIFA global competition, winning the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup as hosts, defeating Brazil 4–3.

The Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid was Morocco's unsuccessful bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It competed with the United 2026 bid of Canada, Mexico, and the United States for hosting rights.