You can really sense the excitement as 2026 approaches!
Hundreds(‼️) of new people have signed up for this newsletter since the last edition + teams are are starting to officially qualify! 🥳
Before we know it, the 1st phase of tickets will go on sale and then the draw in December.
And with that….👋 We’re back in your inbox with the monthly digest of World Cup content!
As always, 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 2025 World Cup Digest
This edition covers:
Japan, Argentina, Iran & New Zealand Qualify
Congratulations to Japan, Argentina, Iran and New Zealand for officially qualifying for the 2026 World Cup!
Here’s the wrap-up on qualification after the latest International Window in March:
South America, started Sept 2023 (FIFA Table)
1 of 6: Argentina
+ 1 Intercontinental Playoff
Asia, started Oct 2023 (FIFA Table)
2 of 8: Japan, Iran
+ 1 Intercontinental Playoff
Africa, started Nov 2023 (FIFA Table)
0 of 9:
+ 1 Intercontinental Playoff
North & Central America, started March 2024 (FIFA Table)
3 of 6: USA, Canada, Mexico
+ 2 Intercontinental Playoff
Oceania, over (FIFA Table)
1 of 1: New Zealand
+ 1 Intercontinental Playoff (New Caledonia)
Europe, started March 2025 (FIFA Table)
0 of 16:
Summary, 48 Total Teams
Automatic Bids: 46
6 qualify for intercontinental playoffs
The 4 lowest teams play to make a semifinal vs 2 highest teams. Winners of the semifinals qualify for 2026.
Visas: Players & Staff + Sites for Fans
We’ve seen the TikToks / Reels of people going on about how awkward it will be for FIFA because of potential new travel bans in the US. These people have also posted videos of “confirmed World Cup prices” multiple times (w/ different values) when nothing official has been released.
First and foremost, be careful about jumping to believe everything you see, especially if you cannot find official reports. Additionally, international sporting events and athletes have navigated political waters before and will do so again. The world and future is unpredictable so you never know but be wary of anyone jumping to unproven conclusions.
This LA Times article details recent comments from Casey Wasserman, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics about inbound athletes for the Olympics and FIFA World Cup.
Here’s a brief summary to illustrate the point:
Wasserman specifically mentioned that athletes traveling to the U.S. for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup (and other events this summer) would typically use B1/B2 tourist visas, ensuring smooth entry for international athletes.
He clarified that despite political concerns or visa restrictions, measures are already in place to guarantee full participation of athletes and delegations in major sporting events, including the Olympics and World Cup hosted in the U.S.
That said, if you plan on visiting one of the three host countries, these sites below may be useful regarding visas and entry rules:
USA
No idea if this global wait time is even accurate (it hasn’t been updated in months and has the word “deactivated” in the URL which seems weird?)
List of countries that are part of a Visa Waiver Program
Official 2026 Host City Posters Launch
Ah, the Official World Cup Poster. It is trivial to some and a life long goal of others to collect a copy of every World Cup poster. To me, the posters become visual representations and visual memory cues for tournaments so thought I’d make a few comments.
FIFA announced a release schedule (w/ images of all posters) that goes through April 17th for each city. Depending on when you read this, various ones have already been released.
I also love how the host cities incorporated local artists/fans submissions in a competition to be part of history within their hometown.
A personal opinion: Atlanta fell short of its high expectations and Miami (via Rubem Robierb) has a poster that may become iconic for 2026.
2026 Public Transit to Stadiums
This was a reader-submitted inquiry but the response is too long for the Q&A below.
FIFA requires Host Cities to provide a thorough transportation plan for the tournament. In the past, game day transportation was required to be free for those with match tickets. I can’t see how this would realistically be managed in at least USA.
For this edition, I’ll post the current status per a Reddit thread regarding USA Host Cities and focus more on transportation in a future edition. As noted in this US Federal Highway Administration YouTube video, each city is supposed to finalize their mobility plans in Jan 2026.
You can also reference the US Department of Transportation’s FHWA website for 2026 here. The site honestly won’t be very useful unless they update it but still linking it as FYI.
There are some large aspirations for a tournament that is less than 15 months away so it is hard to be too optimistic on holistic changes for betterment of city infrastructure.
As mentioned above, there’s a Reddit thread of comments trying to help provide insight on the current status of US host cities and stadium public transit access. It’s important to emphasize current status here as some cities may complete their initiatives for 2026 specifically.
I did my best to summarize the entire thread below (having not been to these stadiums myself) with some creative AI prompts:
Seattle: Train connects the airport, downtown, and stadium.
Atlanta: Decent transit with a grade-separated system connecting the airport, stadium, and downtown.
New York / New Jersey: Not as great of a transit option as some may think (the stadium is really in the state of New Jersey). Some people even said it is better to arrive by car or taxi.
Houston: There are two airports (IAH and HOU). IAH is almost certainly the one everyone will use unless you’re connecting domestically via Southwest which uses HOU. In general, downtown Houston offers a light rail option to the stadium (via METRORail Red Line).
IAH: Take the Metrobus 102 from the airport to a downtown stop. From downtown get on the METRORail Red Line southbound to the stadium. HOU: Take Metrobus 73 to Fannin Transit Center and either walk or go one stop on METRO Rail Red Line.
Los Angeles: A future LAX connector may open; otherwise, not great transit access from airport to stadium.
San Francisco: The stadium is actually in Santa Clara (40-50 miles from SF), with poor connectivity; Caltrain, VTA light rail, and Amtrak are options but still not ideal.
Philadelphia: Easy access from the airport and to the stadium (Broad Street subway line).
Dallas: No public transit directly to the stadium; however, there are plans to connect buses to the closest transit stop to bridge that gap.
Kansas City: Very limited service to the stadium today; however, KC2026 has leased 200 buses, making it the first host city to secure additional transit vehicles for the event. These buses will complement existing routes and provide expanded service to matches, the FIFA Fan Festival™, Kansas City International Airport, and other key locations
Vancouver: Supposedly “excellent” access with Skytrain directly from the airport to the stadium.
Miami: No great options and some are very doubtful that a MetroRail extension to Hard Rock is unlikely to be ready by 2026.
Boston: 20 miles outside Boston; commuter rail available for events.
San Francisco: Poor connectivity; Caltrain, VTA light rail, and Amtrak are options but still not ideal.
Toronto & $10.7M for Hospitality Packages
Here’s what Toronto is considering:
The city is proposing to spend $10.7 million of taxpayer money to purchase exclusive hospitality packages from FIFA.
Allegedly, the city would then resell the hospitality packages at marked-up prices, effectively acting like a reseller or broker to raise money.
There’s also this counter article to argue that scalping isn’t the real plan.
If Toronto is able to negotiate package purchases and sell them at the advertised prices on the official hospitality site, then ok; however, there’s doubts on if FIFA will allow that or if that’s even the goal.
2025 CLUB World Cup Training Sites
Coming across a few different sources, here’s a list of qualified teams and their Training Camp location for the 2025 CLUB World Cup. If not listed, I haven’t seen any confirmation; aside from MLS teams who will use their own facilities.
Atlético Madrid – Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Auckland City FC – Chattanooga, Tennessee
Bayern Munich – ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Florida
Benfica – Tampa Waterpark Sports Complex, Tampa, Florida
Boca Juniors – Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida
Borussia Dortmund – Inter Miami CF Training Facility, Florida
Botafogo – University of California, Santa Barbara, California
Chelsea – Philadelphia Union Training Center, Chester, Pennsylvania
FC Porto – Rutgers University, New Jersey
Flamengo – Stockton University, New Jersey
Inter Milan – UCLA, Los Angeles, California
Juventus – The Greenbrier Resort, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Manchester City – Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida
Monterrey – Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – University of California, Irvine, California
Real Madrid – Palm Springs area, Florida
Main Sources: The Athletic, Miami Herald
Egypt’s 2034 Comments
Not to be lazy but I don’t see a better way to get to the point than to quote this article, which had the most efficient details:
Speaking at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) general assembly meeting on Wednesday, Egyptian Football Association (EFA) head Hany Abo Rida surprised delegates after asking Infantino if Egypt could host some of the tournament's matches, despite it already having been awarded to Saudi Arabia.
"We wish that the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, will allow us the honour of hosting one of the 2034 groups," Abo Rida said during his opening speech at the event.
I love using this gif whenever I can but it seemed applicable here. Can’t imagine Saudi Arabia having any other reaction to Egypt’s Abo Rida comments than this:
Answering Reader Questions
Each edition I answer questions that have been submitted by you, the readers. I do not answer all questions but try my best to summarize topics and address what I can.
If you’re interested in formally asking a question or you have a topic that you want more details on, hit respond directly from your inbox to send a message to submit a question or use the button below.
With that, on to the questions from readers…
Do I have the latest news on transportation plans for each host city?
Well, I addressed a lot of this above but still wanted to make a more generic statement here. FIFA requires Host Cities to provide a thorough transportation plan for the tournament. In the past, game day transportation was required to be free for those with match tickets. I can’t see how this would realistically be managed in 2026 but for the most part, it seems cities are taking steps to minimize friction navigating to and from stadiums as much as possible. I will try to organize these details better in the future.
Do I have any tips on how to save money for attending the World Cup?
I haven’t changed my approach since my first tournament in 2006. I work and save at least $100 a month so after 4 years, this accumulates to completely cover or make a dent in my overall spend. I also use online savings account Ally (that link also provides you with $100 if you like what you see from Ally, qualify and and sign-up as well) because of their high interest and have found that every 4 years, the interest alone covers 1-2 tickets. Lastly, I posted an article that details my budget and actual spend for 2018 & 2022.
If my country does not qualify for the World Cup does that hurt my chances of securing a visa?
Qatar 2022 was very strict in who entered the country. When it started, only fans with tickets were granted visas and that soon evolved to “friends” as well who were granted visa access. For 2026, all 3 hosts are accustomed to tourists and big sporting events so the visa process will supposedly be exactly as it is today. Whether your country qualifies or doesn’t qualify, you’ll have to go through the same process. We do not know yet if there will be a faster approval process for those with official tickets but we stress that we have heard there won’t be a special visa and you should maybe look into this now.
Tip: Use the links above. 🙂
What exactly does Roadtrips offer?
I have received an uptick of emails asking for details about Roadtrips, likely because of the updated article on Hospitality Packages & Options and some have resulted in alignment of budget and goals that it made sense to reach out.
To assist, I thought it’d be best to summarize from their own brochure:
Roadrips offers a variety of custom travel experiences to World Cups (and other major sporting events). They’re a brilliant option for individuals, groups and/or corporations looking for help in navigating the many nuanced logistics of attending a World Cup, with a luxury service level. Packages include:
Following a Team
Specific Matches (e.g. Opening Match, Group Stages, Knockouts, Final)
Customizable Itinerary
Roadtrips has access to over 50+ hotels across all 16 host cities (in 2022, you could find yourself at a hotel that some teams even stayed at) and helps provide all sorts of logistical event assistance.
If you’re interested, you can immediately fill out a Custom Trip Quote (mention The World Cup Guide) with them or reply to this message and I can send an introduction if you want to check alignment on budget and needs first.
Are there any jobs available for World Cup 2026?
I’ll continue to post links for the jobs that FIFA and On Location are hiring for and any others that I come across. The positions refresh often and some are even remote:
On Location Jobs (Hospitality Vendor)
And, since a large % of readers here are American, here’s a link to open jobs with US Soccer, too.
Bonus Links
USA Leagues to Get Promotion / Relegation
Those that are unfamiliar, there is no promotion / relegation system in USA professional leagues; however, that may change with USL’s announcement.
Blatter, Platini return to court for new fraud trial over $2M FIFA payment
DATA DIVE: The average pay in 20 leagues revealed
I borrowed the headline. This article contains data & visuals if you’re interested in leagues around the world and the financials involved.
Marshall Islands First Ever Match - Kickstarter Campaign
If you had to guess where Marshall Islands first ever official international match would be, would you guess Springdale, Arkansas in the US?
They have a kickstarter campaign which details why Springdale and who they’re playing in an effort to make the journey. Donate what you can, if you feel the urge to do so.
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