Just In: 2026 World Cup Countries Will Be Divided Into Regional Clusters According To Gianni Infantino

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has revealed that teams competing in the 2026 World Cup will be divided into clusters to reduce travel time. It will be staged in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with games being played in 16 locations across the three countries. As a result, games will be planned locally, reducing teams’ cross-continent travel throughout the tournament.

Infantino said: “The challenges will be the whole logistics around it, It’s a continent – three countries and not three small countries either – three big countries. The distances, the time zones, the climatic differences too – altitude in Mexico, sea level in other parts. So for us it’s important to create the right environment for the teams and the fans to be put in the best possible conditions.”

“Meaning not having to travel too much, especially at the beginning. So we will create some clusters where teams will be based depending on the draw and then they will play their games in that particular cluster.”

The 2026 tournament will be different from the 2022 championship in Qatar. While most 2022 World Cup matches will be within an hour’s drive of one another in Doha, the World Cup in North America will be vastly dispersed, pushing FIFA to turn to the cluster system.

There is still a long way to go until the World Cup begins in June 2026. It will be the first World Cup with 48 teams, up from the previous tournament of 32.