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FIFA Increased World Cup 2026 To 104 Matches, 48 Teams

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FIFA is bound to approve plans on Tuesday for the biggest-ever World Cup in 2026.

FIFA Council meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda, it will be confirmed that there will be 104 games in 2026 instead of the 64 games played in Qatar last year.

The addition, 40 games are necessary because the tournament is expanding from 32 to 48 teams which requires more games

The 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada will have 12 groups of four teams. The top two teams will advance to a round of 32 with the eight best third-placed teams.

FIFA had been considering a format of 12 groups of three teams, but the success  generated by the usual four-team group format used in the Qatar World Cup has helped to convince the FIFA Council to stick with four-team groups.

The combined number of rest, release and tournament days remains the same as previous World Cups in 2010, 2014 and 2018 – 56 days.

It means teams reaching the final will now have to play eight matches, instead of the seven played by Qatar 2022 finalists Argentina and France.

Gianni Infantino, the current president of FIFA, attends the FIFA Council Meeting at which FIFA officially announces that 2021 FIFA Club World Cup will be held in China, in Shanghai, China, 24 October 2019. (Imaginechina via AP Images)
FIFA president Gianni Infantino

The final in the United States is due to be on Sunday July 19, 2026.

PFA CEO Maheta Molango has criticised the FIFA proposals. He said: “Fundamentally, the football calendar needs a complete reset.

“The expanded World Cup format being announced for 2026 means that, yet again, more games are being forced into an already overcrowded schedule.

“It is right that FIFA have listened to players’ concerns and announced a working group to address the critical issues surrounding fixture congestion and player welfare.

“However, it’s very difficult to see how that aligns with the constant expansion of the domestic and international calendar.

“We know that the current workload players face is having an ongoing impact on their wellbeing, both on and off the pitch. We can’t simply push them until they break.”

Written by Ibrahim Oladamola

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