As the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 draws to a close, football fans worldwide turn eyes to the 2026 World Cup to be held in three countries for the first time in history.
It will be played in the US, Canada and Mexico with the participation of 48 teams. Qatar's fascinating World Cup hosting associated with unlimited creativity with an Arab and Gulf footprint raised many questions about the three countries' potentials for hosting the 2026 edition.
The World Cup in Qatar bolstered the abilities of sports to bring peoples together, and sent messages of peace, love and unity worldwide. Qatar, through this successful organisation, sent a message to the world that the Middle Eastern, the Gulf and Arab regions were still arenas of love, peace and coexistence, not of wars, conflicts and crises, as portrayed by the West by reporting only on crises in the region. Qatar showed the Arabs' acceptance of other cultures, appreciation and respect for different beliefs, races and languages.
Qatar brought people together in a space of peace, love, competition, and football encouragement with passion and respect. Qatar reflected the Arab traditions and culture by enabling Arab fans to watch more than one World Cup game per day. This made Arab fans in direct connection and cultural exchange with football fans from around the world. Qatar's exceptional organisation of the tournament is a turning point that enhances the FIFA concepts and principles to spread the culture of soccer and unite peoples through football, by providing eight unique stadiums, and open space for the media to carry an abstract image of the region and its the people.
The mission of the delegations of the three countries who are now attending the World Cup in Qatar seems more accurate to benefit from Qatar's organisation, with the work teams of the three countries are monitoring the details of the Qatari organisation to follow in its excellent footsteps. Despite the size of Qatar, it provided open arenas and stadiums in a World Cup experience that will inspire the 11 stadiums in the three countries during the 2026 edition to produce an outstanding hosting.
The 2026 edition will see the participation of 48 teams for the first time in FIFA history, with 80 games to be played in 11 cities in the US, three in Mexico and two in Canada. The World Cup 2022 had only 64 fixtures. FIFA announced that they had followed arrangements which would generate further revenues for FIFA and sports federations worldwide. In a statement, FIFA said that increasing the revenues will develop 211 FIFA-affiliated federations.
The football governing body added that it earned nearly $8bn in revenue through the 2022 edition in Qatar, $1bn more than revenues from the Russia 2018 edition, thanks to geographical proximity between stadiums and hotels and the ease of access for fans, in addition to the security and safety factors that enhanced fan attendance. Qatar's administrative, organisational and financial success will pave the way for the development of the game with a new concept that accepts peoples' cultures, races and languages, and has brought football and the World Cup to the pinnacle of sports. This success will put further pressure on the trio the US, Canada and Mexico to make similar achievements.
