How are preparations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States going?

The World Cup is just a year away and plenty of fans have already plotted their routes and booking accommodation despite only a handful of teams having qualified as it stands. For the US, Canada and Mexico, who are co-hosting, plenty of work has already been done to ensure it’s a tournament to remember.

The last time the USA hosted the World Cup, it broke all manner of records, with over three and a half million taking to the terraces to cheer their team on. The MLS was created as a result of it – a league which today sees the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Son Heung-min taking to the pitch. The authorities in charge will be hopeful of another huge impact on the sport come summer 2026.

To see how the USA is moving along with its preparation for the competition, we teamed up with MightyTips’ football expert, Kate Richardson, to analyse the state of play and what’s being done by the authorities to ensure it’s a competition to remember.

How is the competition shaping up?

It’s set to be a huge tournament with a host of nations in the mix to win. The bookmakers have already set out their stall but have it close between four sides, making it well worth exploring the market for the best odds and bonuses. 

The experts at the review site MightyTips have plenty of bonuses reviewed and recommended, perfect for this market, which currently Spain lead with most bookmakers having won Euro 2024. However, France, Brazil and England all sit closely behind and for bonus funds, could well be worth placing your bets on. 

Outsiders include Argentina and Germany, while Portugal, who have looked good in recent tournaments, sit just behind those.

How is the USA preparing for the FIFA World Cup?

Only Brazil and Argentina out of those nations, however, can categorically say they will be there with qualification ongoing. In the meantime, the host nations are gearing up, getting stadiums ready and so on. 

The Club World Cup: A solid testing ground

The recent Club World Cup, hosted in the US only, provided the perfect testing ground, with five of the 2026 competition’s venues used as Chelsea lifted their first Club World Cup by beating PSG in the Final.

It gave cities the opportunity to streamline processes and ensure they’re fully ready for fans all over the world to arrive.

Stadiums well-versed in major events

Of course, pretty much all 11 host cities in the country are well-versed in hosting major events, from weekly NFL fixtures to the likes of concerts, Super Bowls, and Wrestlemanias. Which is already breeding confidence for the hosts themselves.

Take the AT&T Stadium in Texas, for example, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Not only is it home to one of the biggest NFL teams in the country, it’s also hosted the Super Bowl, huge boxing events: 

• Wrestlemania
• Paul McCartney
• U2
• The Rolling Stones. 

So, it’s pretty well set. 

It’s a similar story in California and LA’s SoFi Stadium, with Adolfo Romero, vice-president of programming and booking at the venue stating: “Having consistently hosted major global events, including 11 international soccer matches and Super Bowl LVI, SoFi Stadium has gained invaluable experience that our team is actively leveraging to meticulously plan for a successful World Cup.”

But it’s a similar story everywhere, which sets this tournament apart from others in the past.

Investment in upgrades

Despite the headstart, venues across the United States have been investing and FIFA does have specific guidelines that must be followed. Most are already compliant but upgrades are being made across many venues.

FIFA-regulation pitches are being integrated into many stadiums, as well as upgraded fields. The SoFi Stadium is one such stadium that has welcomed a new, comprehensive irrigation system to aid a natural grass pitch, something required by FIFA.

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium has also upgraded its lighting systems to suit natural grass conditions and to ensure players are getting the best quality turf to play on.

Security preparations

Of course, one of the key areas of consideration is security. Recently, the Governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered to host the very first High-Level Trilateral Coordination Meeting in order to ensure safety at the tournament. 

A representative from the US Department of State said: “This cooperation reflects our shared commitment to ensuring not only a celebration of sport but also the safety and security of all participants and attendees.”

As part of that meeting, emerging threats and developing countermeasures were discussed as well as experts sharing best practices and innovative solutions to help all three host nations build effective security plans for the World Cup.

The USA is ready for a memorable competition

With little under a year to go, the USA, alongside Canada and Mexico, is well placed in its preparation for the tournament and there’s no doubt it will be one of the best tournaments off the field in recent years, with the likes of fanzones and matchday experiences set to be bigger and better than ever before.

The USA knows how to do events on a big scale, and there’s no doubt the FIFA World Cup is going to benefit as a result of that. It’ll just be for the teams to showcase football at its best on the pitch, too…

The article was provided by Kate Richardson.