The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already one of the most-discussed events in the history of football. Partially, the reasons are good, grand even. It’s the first time that an event of this scale and magnitude will be held in North America – 48 teams will play across three countries: the USA, Canada, and Mexico, allowing the entire continent to join in on the celebration of the world’s most significant event in the world’s biggest sport. However, the tri-country tournament of such a scale comes with an equally gargantuan set of challenges. Logistics, politics, weather, and construction are just a few of the obstacles the upcoming tournament will need to overcome. What issues may the upcoming grand football spectacle face, and what preparations are already underway to mitigate the effects? Let’s find out!
Construction and Logistics: Challenges to Overcome
No other World Cup has taken place on the entire continent; the only comparable tournament would be the UEFA Euro 2020, which was held across 11 European countries. However, the Euro is twice as small in scale, with only 24 teams, as opposed to 48 squads arriving in North America for the World Cup. Logistical challenges ensue: the mere distance between different host cities is an issue in itself; teams may have to travel from Monterrey to Toronto and from New York to LA – both journeys are over 3,000 kilometers long. Until 2026, the authorities must devise a solution for transferring 48 squads from their base camps (which have already been built) to host cities and back for the entirety of the tournament.
Preparing travel routes and bases is one thing, but the North American World Cup has an even bigger issue to tackle: arenas! Football (or soccer, as it’s known in that part of the world) arenas in the US and Canada aren’t equipped to host a tournament of that level, with Mexico being the only country with arenas large and developed enough to host World Cup matches. The solution was imminent: the only structures with enough space that fit the audience requirements are the NFL stadiums. What that means, however, is that they have to be refitted to host the proper football matches from the end of the NFL season in January/February to July, when the World Cup will take place. The fan communities, including the audience on MelBet Facebook Somalia, seem to agree that, despite having only a few months to prepare, this issue will be resolved.
Adjacent Industries: How do Other Businesses Prepare for the World Cup
Focusing on teams is one thing, but is North America ready to host hundreds of thousands, and potentially millions, of fans? The tournament committee’s answer seems to be choosing venues in the most populous parts of the three countries, ready to handle the influx of sports tourists: the hotels, hostels, and camps in the Mexico City, New York/ Philadelphia/ Toronto metropolitan area, and in California will, without a doubt, provide enough accommodation. However, some locations, such as Atlanta, Kansas City, and two Texas-based football arenas, may not be well-equipped to handle World Cup fans, so expect chaos, especially on internal flights to these cities on match days.
Still, there’s one industry fully prepared to tackle the World Cup – the sports betting one, of course. The websites and apps already plan matches, evaluate odds, provide predictions, and schedule live feeds to join, allowing users to plan their bets, stakes, and parlays. Accessing all of this is relatively easy: simply press the MelBet download button to never miss an event, match, or prediction, whether it’s a local league or the World Cup final.
Potential Issues Without a Solution in Sight
Travel, hospitality, and arenas are all complex and severe challenges, tackling which will require thorough planning. There are, however, two pressing issues without a potential solution in sight, which make the tournament a wildcard one, as predicting outcomes from these issues is nearly impossible, ranging from mildly impacting the event’s vibe and the number of attendees to potentially ruining the World Cup altogether.
The first challenge is the weather. During the last World Cup in Qatar, FIFA simply rescheduled the tournament to a later date, as avoiding the summer heat was the only solution to conduct a diverse football tournament of such a scale. In the North American World Cup, however, that wouldn’t work: the World Cup has to be conducted during the off-season of the NFL league to utilize the arenas, and playing in winter in Canada and the Northeastern US would be impossible. However, as demonstrated by the 2025 Club World Cup, also held in the US, the summer heat poses a significant challenge in itself, with temperatures in California and Texas (where four of the 16 total arenas are located) and in Mexico exceeding 40 degrees Celsius during the daytime.
Another one, though, is politics. While the visa issues (attendees have to get three separate visas for three countries hosting the tournament if they want to travel to all matches of their team, for example) might be resolved by thorough planning and creating a fan visa, the current US administration’s approach to people visiting their country is questionable at best. Fans may need to prepare for being denied entry due to a meme saved on their phone or a social media post that the administration disapproves of. How political stances and harsh border control will clash with millions of international fans streaming into a country to watch football matches and root for their national teams remains to be seen.
