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It’s time to review a snapshot of World Cup news that focuses on the fan and attendance experience.
And don’t forget to check the core website, theworldcupguide.com for info on how tickets work, costs of attending previous World Cups and more!
April 2024 World Cup Digest
This edition covers:
World Cup Packages Available from Roadtrips
Who is Roadtrips? They’re the world leader in luxury sports travel packages and put together trips for corporations, families, etc. Think of them as a white-glove, full service travel agent for the world’s most important sporting events.
Roadtrips 2026 World Cup packages include the standard details below + their team can put together a custom package.
Follow Your Team
8 or 15 nights
Semi-Final (Dallas or Atlanta)
3 nights
Finals
4 nights
Custom Packages (City, Match, Duration, etc)
3, 6 or 9 nights, etc
Interested in an introduction + potential discount to Roadtrips?
World Cup Stadium Name Changes & Renovation Plans
Name Changes
Unbeknownst to many fans, stadiums in a World Cup cannot be referenced by their sponsored naming rights. This article from the Fan Nation does a good job explaining why, as it speaks specifically towards Houston. While it upsets some (like this article in Miami slightly alludes to), the temporary forfeit of the naming rights had to be agreed upon by the sponsor before a city could be considered for hosting rights.
Renovations
If you aren’t aware, FIFA requires grass which will be new for many 2026 stadiums.
Here’s a list of stadiums with hyperlinks to the latest plans and/or costs on stadium renovations:
Canada Stadiums
Mexico Stadiums
Unfortunately, this project is not going well and allegedly failed its latest criteria tests in March 2024 and is already 6 months behind schedule.
This X post from FIFA Museum compares images of El Azteca and its surrounding neighborhoods from 1970 to today.
Also, El Azteca is going on the stock market.
Monterrey
This article isn’t specific to the stadium but the detail on investment to the city’s parks, metro, airport, roads, etc is very thorough and ambitious. This article also does a decent job of summarizing the work. We’re personally hoping to visit Monterrey for a match!
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the backdrop of this stadium.
Guadalajara
Haven’t seen any news about renovations so here’s an article from Guadalajarareporter.net. 🤷
USA Stadiums
Atlanta (8 Matches + Semifinal)
This aerial photo of stadium is 👌
Dallas
Surprised that this stadium will need $295M for renovations.
Miami
This reddit post is a deep dive of its evolution.
New York New Jersey (8 Matches + Final)
Field widening + security updates per northjersey.com.
A decade ago, NY Times ran a piece on what it was like to try to walk to the stadium. It’s amusing and should be “taken with a grain of salt” but does illustrate how automobile-dependent it is.
It’s easy to joke about this stadium so here’s an instagram post with more flattering pictures with the city in background (where the post also summarizes the renovations).
Here’s one more article.
Seattle
Grass installation, Fanovation areas, and more details.
Update on 2026 Qualification
With the latest international window behind us, when did/does World Cup 2026 Qualification start for each confederation and what’s the standings?
South America, started Sept 2023 (FIFA Table)
Asia, started Oct 2023 (FIFA Table)
Africa, started Nov 2023 (FIFA Table)
North & Central America, started March 2024 (FIFA Table)
Oceania, starts Sept 2024
Europe, starts March 2025
Groups Drawn for 2024 Paris Olympics
It isn’t a World Cup or an official FIFA event, but the Olympics are another avenue to watch teams compete for national pride.
Men’s Olympics, July 24 - August 9
This is an Under-23 tournament + 3 “overage” players
16 Teams in 4 Groups of 4 teams
Group A: France, United States, Asian/African playoff winner, New Zealand
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Third Asian qualifier, Ukraine
Group C: Second Asian qualifier, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic
Group D: First Asian qualifier, Paraguay, Mali, Israel
Women’s Olympics, July 25 - August 10
Full national team rosters
12 Teams in 3 Groups of 4 teams
Group A: France, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand
Group B: United States, Second African qualifier, Germany, Australia
Group C: Spain, Japan, First African qualifier, Brazil
Fun Fact: Roadtrips creates packages for the Olympics, too, so if this interests you, hit respond and let us know!
Bonus Links
Germany Ditches adidas
In a shocking move, the German National Team announced that 2026 will be the last World Cup cycle with adidas and will switch to Nike immediately after.
(For a 2022 throwback, read our first ever guest post from a group of guys that put together a witty jersey ranking.)
Netflix Film Based on the “Homeless World Cup”
You may be intrigued by the fact that a Homeless World Cup even exists - or you know already. Regardless, Netflix has a film coming out and you can watch the trailer and read more details.
Brazilian Call-up
OK, the visual and link below may be rough on Brazilians so here’s a wholesome video we came across of Douglas Luiz family celebrating his national team call-up posted by @SportBible on X.
Visual: Largest (Men’s) International Defeats
If you’re like us, you’re a fan of learning through creative visualizations. Check out this global map via @TheseFootyTimes on X that illustrates “every nation and who inflicted their largest footballing defeat”. Warning: Seeing that German flag over Brazil may bring back some painful memories if you’re Brazilian.
To see a larger image, you need to copy & paste (clicking may not work): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fi97bGLWYAECmGt?format=jpg&name=large
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Feedback
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