What's the state of the World Cup, 100(ish) days out? | The Big Thing
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World Cup 2026 ticketing
Tickets to the final are six times higher than in 2022 and the average ticket price in general for the tournament is up threefold from the last tournament. FIFA's revenue in 2022 was just over six billion dollars and that number is projected to reach 11 billion dollars for 2026.
Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, recently claiming that every World Cup match is already sold out. And then a few days later, then putting more games on the market. It seems that the Athletic have done an investigation where they think at least 64 of the 104 games still have seats on offer.
World Cup 2026 withdrawal rules
There is precedent, much more precedent than I thought, although a lot of it is not very recent when it comes to nations pulling out of the World Cup... I don't think there's any real codified plan for what happens if a team withdraws. FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion.
Iran World Cup participation
What is certain is that after this attack we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope.
World Cup 2026 geopolitics
I don't think AFC is going to come together to petition for the United States to be kicked out of hosting a World Cup or participating in future sport because Iran is on some level a pariah state. The U.S. is a permanent member of the Security Council. They're the largest sports market on the planet.
World Cup 2026 broadcast
FIFA are now allowing TV networks to put commercial breaks during the hydration breaks in every single game in this tournament. And hydration breaks aren't just happening in open-air stadiums. Also ones with roofs, which are climate-controlled.
World Cup 2026 host cities
New York, New Jersey have scrapped their official fan festival that was set to be held in Liberty State Park. San Francisco have done similar. I've read that Miami are considering. They're going to have a meeting about scrapping their fan festival.
World Cup 2026 qualification
This is an expanded World Cup. This is the first time that there will be 48 teams in the tournament. And we do know the identity of 42 of those teams, meaning six places have yet to be allocated.
World Cup 2026 infrastructure
I saw some pictures of the Azteca this week and seems like there's a lot of construction work still taking place there, considering games kick off in under 100 days.
World Cup 2026 kits
We have had the home kits released for this World Cup by Adidas and we're getting away kits on the 30th of March. We don't have a date for Nike, but they are coming out with their kits very soon.
