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Oh and in this one, we have some insight on the latest word from FIFA regarding the earliest opportunity to purchase an official ticket to 2026 😱

Don’t forget to check the core website, theworldcupguide.com for info on how tickets work, costs of attending previous World Cups or the previous newsletters with some insight that only gets posted to (free) subscribers!

This edition covers:

There is a new vendor in charge of Hospitality Tickets & Packages for the World Cup in 2026. The company On Location is not new to hospitality packages for high profile events. In fact, On Location is the official vendor for the Super Bowl, Olympics, NCAA Final Four and many more and was also said to have been favored by FIFA due to its intimate knowledge of the North American market.

Pssst…pay attention because FIFA nonchalantly dropped some news in its news release (the link above) that should absolutely put everyone on alert. Peep this quote that’s in the linked article above 👀:

If you have a high budget ceiling and haven’t already contacted Roadtrips to plan a luxury trip, you will want to stay alert these last few months of 2024. For some type of reference, the cheapest Hospitality Ticket was $950 in Qatar 2022.

See what I did there? 🫣 Though Copa 2024 already seems like a distant memory , it did offer the world a glimpse into the common weather situations that teams and fans will have to deal with in 2026.

Those unaware of the climate, it is hot 🥵 in North America in June/July and in some parts, very unpredictable. Americans are well aware of the intense heat waves, pop-up thunderstorms and even hurricane evacuations. For example, it isn’t unheard of to sit through storm delays of 1 to 2+ hours for sporting events.

How will all of this play out in the build up to the tournament? Unsure, but 1994 is certainly remembered for its heat wave and slow matches with heavy legs. Stadiums like Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston and Dallas will be kind to attending fans and tv networks that need on time, predictable matches with their roofs and climate-controlled settings. It really isn’t a surprise to know that some matches could be uncomfortably warm for all involved, but there was some added noise after this summer’s Copa America.

Remember when Qatar announced plans to implement air conditioning to their stadiums? It definitely worked, but the climate then was slightly cooler than what many host cities will experience in 2026.

To the surprise of some, FIFA does publish some documents publicly. At times there’s curious details, like the 2026 Bid Book from USA/Canada/Mexico and its proposal on 2026 Ticket Prices. Other times, it feels like bloated fluff that requires assisted analysis from an AI engine to confirm how little the Bid Ratings matter in voting for World Cup hosts works.

Perhaps there will be some interesting pieces to come out later, but for now, you can read through the official 2030 and 2034 Bid Books. Honestly, not quite sure what the point is to produce the books after being awarded the bid. However, we did learn about the proposed stadiums and provided detail below.

Six countries may be sharing duties in 2030 but virtually the entirety will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Within the submitted bid, Spain proposed 11 stadiums while Morocco proposed 6 and Portugal 3.

While the location of the Final is to be determined later, FIFA did state its intention to having the opening match played in Uruguay at Estadio Centenario, the first ever Historical Monument of Football for its role in hosting the first ever World Cup Final in 1930.

We will definitely have to keep the Going subscription active in 2030 to find affordable flights to navigate to South America & then to Portugal, Spain & Morocco.

Not to be out done by six co-hosts, Saudi Arabia made quite the splash with the announcement of its 2034 World Cup stadium plans. There are 15 proposed stadiums across 5 cities (11 new, 2 to be expansions of existing structures and 2 to be renovated). Saudi Arabia Holding Company CEO, Mohammed Al Qahtani, provided a detailed post on LinkedIn regarding Neom’s Suspended Stadium.

Below is an image of South Riyadh Stadium from the 2034 Bid Book and you can find details for all in pages 46 to 109. For quicker access to some photos, here’s 10 of the stadium images on instagram.

Spain defeated England 2-1 in the 2024 Euro Final and immediately catapults itself back to the top of the favorites for 2026.

From a sporting perspective only, Argentina successfully defended their Copa America title, defeating Colombia in the finals. Fans around the world await to see if Messi retires from international duty or goes for glory one last time in 2026, where his current hometown of Miami plays host to 7 matches.

You can review the standings and match highlights for each match.

From an organization perspective, Copa America was overall very poor (from our perspective…I’m sure it was profitable and considered a success by the suits). The ticket price gouging of CONMEBOL was disappointing, the temporary fields were unsafe to the payers and the final was an unmitigated disaster and turned into a dangerous situation for everyone in attendance.

This article from The Guardian summarizes it all quite well.

No, it isn’t a given. FIFA is a obviously different beast than CONMEBOL and knows how to organize a prestigious tournament.

Are there lessons to be learned for host cities and their committees? Absolutely.

However, to draw a straight line conclusion that Copa was poor and therefore the World Cup will be poor is a bit ignorant - which is fine as many people don’t know the difference.

You can see my response to a popular post on X below but you can also watch this high level reel from sports business guru, Joe Pompliano for commentary as well.

And if you are still wondering about my “ticket price gouging” comment, take a look at my comparison of Copa to World Cup prices and see below on the ticket prices for Euro 2024.

My (presale purchased) Argentina vs Canada ticket, which was equivalent to “Category 3”, was about the same price as a ticket to the Euro FINAL.

The Euros ticketing philosophy is more similar to a World Cup - though 2026 certainly won’t be this cheap! Definitely expecting 2026 to be the most expensive World Cup yet.

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