2026 FIFA World Cup - Canada, Mexico, USA

[CroFlames]

Might be time to start discussing in a dedicated thread as we are getting closer and there is no shortage of controversy in this edition.

From The Athletic

President Trump suggests moving 2026 World Cup games from cities he deems unsafe

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump first guaranteed that the World Cup would be “very secure,” but then suggested that he would intervene and strip host cities of matches. A reporter mentioned Seattle and San Francisco, which will host six games each, as cities that have pushed back against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

I don't even think Putin and the Qatari King were this blatant about their authoritarianism. The interesting part is that Gianni will acquiesce to Trump, so this could get spicy.

In other news, mascots were revealed - of course ours is named Maple. and it's awful.

Spoiler!

Also reminder that this is the last edition with 48 teams as the mafia family known as FIFA plans to expand to 64, then 128 in subsequent editions. There will be 12 groups of 4 teams, with Canada already seeded.

[Senator Clay Davis]

First edition with 48, future expansion is probably inevitable, but 2030 is set for 48 as well. Sucks that everything seemingly comes back to Israel now, but with UEFA likely giving them the boot from qualifying (even though they won't qualify, anyway), could totally see Trump and Co going full tyrant to force Israel into the tournament, which would hopefully lead to a boycott. I know Canada is co-hosting, but this is a US American tournament, so hopefully it's a catastrophic failure.

[CroFlames]

I was being cheeky with the 48 team comment because I'm cynical and I think for Saudi they'll bump it up to 64.

Never thought about the Israel thing, but you could be right. That would be insane if Gianni and Trump just placed them.

[Senator Clay Davis]

If UEFA does give them the boot, I fully expect they'll be in CONCACAF before long.