Planning and preparations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada have stalled. Despite FIFA’s insistence on keeping the organization internal, there are no schedules or game assignments that the 16 host cities are aware of. Although there is no bad blood between FIFA and the host cities, preparations for the World Cup cannot begin in full swing until the schedules are known.
Katherine Holland is the executive director of KC2026, the nonprofit organization overseeing World Cup planning in Kansas City. She assured that FIFA has been a great partner with the host cities and with the United States, Mexico and Canada. Regardless, Holland spoke to World Soccer Talk about how scheduling delays are affecting tournament planning.
“All of us [host cities] “We’re ready for the schedule,” Holland said. “It’s a challenge, but it’s to be expected. “You are creating a part of the largest sporting event in the history of the world.”
The costs of preparing for the 2026 World Cup
The New York Times reports that FIFA has more control over advertising and sponsorships compared to previous World Cups. The lack of a schedule has prevented KC2026 from meeting some of its needs for the tournament. Chief among them are transportation needs for the World Cup in Kansas City. After that, it’s a chain of events for other plans.
“Finally we will know how much we need to budget in relation to the number of games. That will inform how we activate the fan fest. Then, safety and security. So it’s like a domino effect. “Once we know the schedule, the details can be worked out.”
Fundamentally, the details that emerge from match schedules relate to costs. The state governments of Kansas and Missouri and the city government of Kansas City allocated $77 million to help with World Cup preparations, according to local reports. However, there is still no clear direction on where that money is going. At least that’s the case without the schedules.
“Frankly, costs can increase. We are operating in reality and not in hypotheses. The parties are the central axis. There will be a lot of activity outside GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. But the matches are the main event. It is important to have this as a basis on which to build the other activation elements.”
FIFA feels the challenges of a 48-team World Cup
“[FIFA is] take on a different challenge,” Holland said. “They have never produced an event of this size and scope with so many cities and cross-border challenges. They are a great partner. We understand that they are working on some things and solving others. We will do the same, depending on your direction on some things.”
With so many teams and venues for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA committed to handling all programming and planning in-house. The body said this would speed up preparations for, once again, the largest edition of the biggest sporting event in the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, all host cities for the 2026 World Cup are waiting impatiently.
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