Countdown: Less than one year until the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Elected officials and representatives of FIFA started the one-year countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday in a ceremony in Miami.

The city is scheduled to host seven tournament games, which will take place in stadiums across North America.

Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that the city is expected to welcome a million new visitors for the World Cup, with over a billion dollars in economic impact.

Mexico City also kicked off the one-year countdown to the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday by lighting up the city’s iconic buildings in green, the color assigned to the city by FIFA.

The city is scheduled to host the tournament’s opening game, which will take place in stadiums across North America.

The World Cup’s 104 matches will be staged in 16 locations across Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.

Estadio Azteca Mexico City, the venue for the opening fixture of the World Cup, is set to become the first stadium to have hosted three men’s World Cup opening matches.

Mexico will play all three of their group stage matches on home turf.

By Rédaction Africanews