Tag: 2026 FIFA World Cup

FIFA is renaming NFL stadiums with the least creative names for the 2026 World Cup

FIFA could NOT have put less thought into these names.

We’re still two years away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. But we’re already seeing the results of a grueling bidding process that cities and NFL owners were willing to go through in order to host these World Cup matches.

That apparently included the temporary changing of stadium names.

While we already knew that NFL owners agreed to install natural grass playing surfaces in time for 2026, they will also adhere to a FIFA policy about stadium branding. Basically, FIFA won’t let non-FIFA sponsors have their branding displayed during matches. And in the case of the U.S. — where corporate naming rights are the norm for stadiums — the venues we know are going to be called something entirely different for the World Cup.

And let me tell ya: FIFA did not put much thought into these temporary names.

Here’s a look at what the 11 World Cup venues in the U.S. will be called come 2026.

MetLife Stadium to host 2026 FIFA World Cup final

MetLife Stadium will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, which also means natural grass will be coming, at least temporarily.

The center of the soccer world will be MetLife Stadium in the summer of 2026. The home of the Jets and the Giants was announced Sunday as the host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on July 19, 2026.

In addition, MetLife will host five games during the Group Stage and also be a host in the Round of 32 and Round of 16 in the new, expanded Knockout Stage. The 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams. The United States, Mexico and Canada all automatically qualify as co-hosts.

The 2026 World Cup begins June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico. The United States will play their three group matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle.

MetLife Stadium will put down natural grass and undergo renovations in preparation for hosting the World Cup. FIFA requires all stadiums to have natural grass. Whether the grass will stay remains to be seen, but new artificial turf was installed in 2023 and soccer has been played on temporary grass at MetLife previously.

Soccer fans couldn’t believe the utter blandness of the FIFA 2026 World Cup logo

Was this really the best FIFA could do?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will mark the first time soccer’s biggest men’s tournament has taken place in the United States (at least partly) since the early 1990s. And judging by the early reveal of the tournament’s logo, FIFA might not be entirely ready for the spectacle of the moment.

On Wednesday night, FIFA unveiled the “We Are 26” logo for the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S., Mexico, and Canada will jointly host. If the intention was to build hype with the logo, the objective clearly failed. If the intention was to create skepticism about FIFA’s direction with the tournament over one mere graphic design snafu, the mission succeeded.

Because it is terrible.

I mean, seriously: Whose bright idea was it to simply superimpose the World Cup trophy over a generic and white “2” and “6”? There is nothing interesting about this logo. There is nothing that says, “I am now visually stimulated for one of the biggest events in soccer.”

This is the definition of a whiff on a free kick.

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NFL stadiums that will host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches

Here is a list of the NFL stadiums that will be hosting games during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA announced June 16 that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held in North America. The games will be the first time since 2002 that multiple nations will provide host cities.

Mexico will be hosting for the first time since 1986. The United States hosted in 1994. Canada gets its first crack at hosting the men’s tournament.

Of course, the United 2026 bid may not have prevailed if not for help from the NFL. With 11 of the 16 sites being the venues for NFL teams, it really helped make the case for bringing the FIFA World Cup to North America.

Here is a list of the NFL venues that will host games in 2026.

The soccer world had plenty of thoughts on FIFA’s host selections for the 2026 World Cup

A couple big snubs too.

If there’s one thing FIFA is good at, it’s putting on cringey television events that start late and surpass the allotted run time. Thursday’s announcement of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico was no different.

But at the end of the hour-long broadcast that included cameos from random celebrities and a musical performance, we found out which cities would be hosting the expanded World Cup in 2026.

With the field of 22 finalist cities narrowed down to the actual 16 hosts, the 2026 World Cup feels real now. The selections were broken down into three regions (West, Central and East), settling at a final list of:

West

  • Vancouver
  • Seattle
  • Bay Area
  • Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)
  • Guadalajara

Central

  • Kansas City
  • Dallas
  • Atlanta
  • Houston
  • Monterrey
  • Mexico City

East

  • Toronto
  • Boston
  • Philadelphia
  • Miami
  • New York

Cincinnati, D.C., Denver, Edmonton, Nashville and Orlando all missed the cut.

The big surprise out of the selections was probably that the joint D.C./Baltimore bid lost out to Boston. The embarrassing state of FedExField had Baltimore joining that bid at the last moment to host games at the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium. But it wasn’t enough to get D.C. on the list as it became a rare capital city to not host a World Cup.

Denver will also be disappointed to lose out to Kansas City — the likely final Central city chosen. But despite Denver’s great weather and ability to host large events, the intense lobbying from Kansas City (which has a massive soccer culture) along with the U.S. Soccer infrastructure and new airport in KC were too much for Denver to overcome.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that he didn’t have a timetable for when the opener, knockout stage, semi and final sites will be decided. But in the meantime, soccer fans had plenty of thoughts on what FIFA chose for its 2026 World Cup hosts.

Philadelphia to Host FIFA World Cup matches in 2026

Philadelphia is among 16 cities to host World Cup matches in 2026 and Lincoln Financial Field will be the site

Philadelphia is one of the top cities in America and the vast diversity will be on full display during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On Thursday, the Eagles announced that Lincoln Financial Field will be among 16 stadiums in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to host World Cup matches.

11 NFL cities will host World Cup matches, and the NFC will be well represented with 3 cities that host matches in the New York, Metro area, and Dallas as well.

In all, 17 US stadiums in 16 cities were still in the running for the international tournament before the announcement, the first tournament to have an expanded 48-team bracket and the first with co-hosting countries.

60 World Cup matches will be played in the US, with the quarterfinals and all subsequent rounds scheduled to be played here. Canada and Mexico will host 10 games apiece.

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FIFA, which is hosting the 2026 World Cup in American cities, has no idea where those cities actually are

Denver, Montana? Atlanta, Tennessee?

Once we’re done fixating on all of the festivities from the 2022 Men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year, the eyes of the soccer world will soon turn to the 2026 edition, which will take place in the United States. In its 90-plus-year history, it’ll be just the second time the Americans have hosted the prestigious global soccer tournament and will mark over three decades since the last instance in 1994.

Before a Thursday reveal of the official sites for the 2026 tournament, it sure seems like the FIFA organization might have forgotten (or never knew in the first place?) where some major U.S. cities are actually located:

I’m admittedly not a keen geography expert by any means, but I’m pretty confident Denver, Colorado, isn’t in Montana. I’ll say the same for:

  • Nashville, Tennessee, now apparently relocating to Illinois
  • Atlanta, Georgia, calling Tennessee home
  • Boston, Massachusetts moving up to frigid Maine
  • Dallas, Texas, settling into Oklahoma
  • Cincinnati, Ohio taking over Indiana

Hey, I mean, look: It’s been a while since FIFA had to organize something in the United States. I get it. Those synapses probably haven’t fired in a bit. Even still, if you’re going to arrange a major multi-billion dollar tournament watched by people worldwide, you probably want to know where you’re sending the players to play—just a thought.

 

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Ravens helping Maryland in bid to host 2026 FIFA World Cup

With Baltimore as one of the potential host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Ravens are putting their weight behind the bid.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to the United States and Baltimore is making a serious push to become the host city. The Baltimore Ravens are working with Maryland and Baltimore City to help bring the showcase soccer event to M&T Bank Stadium, according to a press release from Maryland Sports and a tweet from the Ravens.

If you’ve never been, M&T Bank Stadium is one of the premier football stadiums in the United States. With a great atmosphere, plenty of seating, a wide variety of concessions, and newly added technology including high-resolution video boards.

The United States was a part of the North American bid, including Canada and Mexico, to win hosting duties. Baltimore is one of just 17 cities in the United States fighting for a chance to hold the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Maryland has a tremendous opportunity to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ in Baltimore. From its cutting edge sports venues & world-class attractions, to its diverse population & cultural experiences, Baltimore is the perfect FIFA World Cup™ host city. I look forward to continuing to work with our partners to bring this opportunity to Maryland and showcase Charm City to the world,” Maryland Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford said in the press release.

While the idea of hosting people from around the entire world might seem scary considering the coronavirus pandemic, the event is several years away. If Baltimore were to win the bid to host matches, it would be a huge boon for the city and state financially, with a major boost to tourism.

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