While it’s impossible to predict the champion, the 2026 World Cup already has many winners: the qualifying teams, the host countries and FIFA are all reaping record financial and media benefits.
Articles on World Cup
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Australia’s World Cup is far from over. But after a timid performance in which both goalscorers from the previous game started on the bench, coach Tony Popovic needs to be bolder.
Despite some XL players, such as Norway’s 195cm Erling Braut Haaland, the average height of all the teams is strikingly similar.
The move is part of a longer history of obscuring and demonizing the Haitian Revolution and its leader, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
Listen to football historian John Sloop trace the history of soccer in the US on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
An expanded tournament means traditionally strong nations may not all progress as far as usual at the World Cup.
Host cities’ agility in preparing for FIFA stands in sharp contrast to the usual rhetoric that municipalities cannot accomplish other civic needs with urgency.
The commitments produce policy documents without enforcement mechanisms, are vague and are not tailored to the specific risks children face during a sports mega-event.
In 1976, fans could score a ticket to the MLB All-Star Game for $6. In 2026, tickets start at over $200.
As millions watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup, players’ tattoos will be on display – offering a glimpse into the inner lives of soccer’s biggest stars.
There is some evidence to suggest that national teams with more migrant players perform better on the pitch.
It’s one thing to pull for your national team when patriotism feels uncomplicated. It’s quite another when you aren’t feeling very proud to be an American.
The economic outlook for World Cup host cities isn’t looking good – but there’s still time to change that.
More matches, smaller nations, significant rule changes – the 2026 World Cup will be vastly different to the 1994 version in the US.
Extreme weather, both heat and rain, are expected to hit World Cup venues this summer.
Betting has turned passion into a transaction, with poor families in Brazil and elsewhere spending money that could have gone to food, transport, diapers, electricity, or rent.
On the field, football has the power to bring cultural unity. But crackdowns on immigrants and soaring costs will make it more difficult to attend.
As Canada co-hosts the 2026 World Cup, its men’s soccer team offers a more diverse and inclusive vision of national identity than the country’s traditional sports have provided.
The new playing fields are rolling out in stadiums from Mexico to Canada. Creating the perfect pitch in very different climates requires the right grasses and some creative tricks.
In the Premier League, the proportion of a match where the ball is in play is at a near-record low.
Top contributors
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Professor and Chair of Allied Health Studies, Stephen F. Austin State University
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Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University
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Associate Professor in Accounting and Sport Finance, University of Portsmouth
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Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of Sydney
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Professor of Communication Studies, Vanderbilt University
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Professor of Communications, Howard University
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Reader in the Department of People and Performance, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Professor, Kinesiology & Physical Education; Fellow, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University
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Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan
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Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University
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Reader in Sociology of Sport, Loughborough University
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Honorary Fellow, Deakin University
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Postdoctoral researcher of football cultures and heritage, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
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Professor of Engineering Practice, Purdue University