The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 as the expanded format sees 48 teams taking part, global football governing body FIFA said Tuesday ahead of its congress in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 2026 edition, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be the first edition of the quadrangular tournament with 48 teams participating. The final will be held on 19 July.
The new format will also stick to the draw of four teams in a group, after proposing 16 groups of three over fears of collusion in the final group game. However, the number of groups will increase from eight to 12.
The original plan for the 2026 edition had a total of 80 matches but the decision to increase the number of games to 104 was approved by the FIFA Council at a meeting on Tuesday.
Traditionally the top two teams from each group advance to the last 16, but in the 2026 edition the eight best third-placed teams will also advance to the knockout round of 32.
“The FIFA Council has unanimously approved the proposed amendments to the competition format for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” FIFA said.
“The revised format minimizes the risk of collusion and ensures that all teams play at least three matches while providing balanced rest time between competing teams.”
A total of 64 matches were played in 29 days in the 32-team World Cup held in Qatar last year. The last times Mexico (1986) and the United States (1994) hosted the World Cup, there were only 24 teams.
Since the 1998 edition, the tournament has featured 32 teams, with eight groups of four and the finalists playing seven games each. But the teams that reach the summit clash in 2026 will now play a total of eight matches.
club competitions
FIFA said the 32-team Club World Cup would be played every four years from June 2025, confirming an announcement made by its president Gianni Infantino in Qatar last year.
The 2021-2024 confederation champions will be eligible to play in the new Club World Cup, meaning Chelsea and Real Madrid have already qualified.
If a club wins the Champions League again, a club ranking calculation based on sporting criteria will be used to determine which team will qualify.
The current edition of the FIFA Club World Cup – an annual competition with seven teams – will be discontinued after 2023, with a new annual club competition approved from 2024.
“The competition will involve the champions of the major club competitions from all confederations and culminate with a final played at a neutral venue between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of the intercontinental play-off between the other confederations.” FIFA said.
FIFA said clubs must release players for the World Cup from May 25, 2026, unless they are in a major final – such as the Champions League showpiece – for which clubs have until May 30 to release players from their national team. Teams will be allowed to join.
“With 56 days, the total combined number of rest, release and tournament days is the same as the 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup editions,” FIFA said.
A newly structured international calendar was also approved with nine-day windows in March and June for two games, a 16-day window for four matches in September–October, followed by a nine-day window for two matches in November. .
‘Fatigue and burnout’
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) said they were concerned about “physical fatigue and mental fatigue” due to busy schedules, with its CEO Mahta Molango saying the football calendar needed a “complete reset”.
“The expanded World Cup format being announced for 2026 means that, again, more games are being forced into an already overcrowded schedule,” he said.
The PFA said they were encouraged to see that FIFA had prioritized concerns such as “a minimum of 72 hours between games, one mandatory day off each week and an annual rest period”.
“However, it is very difficult to see how this aligns with the continued expansion of the domestic and international calendars,” Molango said.
“We know the current workload players are having a sustained impact on their well-being … We can’t keep pushing them until they break.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)