- Title: TIMELINE: 100 days until the FIFA World Cup 2026
- Date: 2nd March 2026
- Summary: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 5, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FIFA PRESIDENT, GIANNI INFANTINO ON STAGE WITH THE ‘FIFA PEACE PRIZE’ AND INTRODUCING U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP [WHO WALKS ON STAGE] SAYING: INFANTINO: “Please welcome the very first winner of the FIFA Peace Prize, the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Mr.
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: 2026 World Cup Canada Donald Trump FIFA FIFA World Cup Gianni Infantino Mexico USA United States
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: US
- Topics: North America,Sport,World Cup
- Reuters ID: LVA00F939328022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: FIFA signaled a major shift on January 10, 2017, voting to expand the men's World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, despite warnings that a larger field could dilute quality and make the event harder to manage. Soon after, Canada, the United States, and Mexico agreed to pursue a unified bid that would ultimately beat competition from Morocco, as the co-hosting plan became a symbol of regional cooperation.
FIFA rolled out a new identity campaign, introduced three mascots representing each host nation, and launched an official match ball designed to emphasize the three-country format and to incorporate technology aimed at helping referees make faster decisions.
In the United States, Donald Trump promised an exceptionally well-run tournament but there has been debate over concerns around fan's visa applications, exceptionally high ticket prices and claims by the U.S. President he may switch venues if he believes there are "unsafe conditions". The latter relates to protests over ICE officers presence on the streets of the U.S..
The sport's governing body awarded Trump its inaugural peace prize at the World Cup draw in December last year with FIFA president Gianni Infantino promising the support of the "entire football community, to help you make peace".
Since receiving that award, Trump has launched a military operation on Venezuela capturing its political leader Nicolas Maduro, supported Mexico's military with intelligence to kill drug cartel boss "El mencho" and joined Israel to launch missile strikes on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Infantino has insisted in recent weeks that events in Mexico would not impact the tournament as he continues to publicly show Trump his full support which has led to questions over FIFA's political neutrality.
The tournament gets underway in June.
Mexico will host matches in Guadalajara, close to where violence has erupted in the past week and Iran will begin their campaign at the SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, a city that has witnessed large protests over the U.S. actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The final is on July 19 at New York's MetLife Stadium and will feature the first half-time show in the tournament's history.
(Production: Simon Ormiston) - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None