The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest held to date with 48 competing teams

Question

The FIFA World Cup 26™ is firmly in view for fans of the beautiful game around the globe with a number of firsts as three nations - Canada, Mexico and the USA - will co-host, and a record 48 teams will take part.After the thrilling drama of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Argentina are aiming to become just the third defending champion in history to retain the trophy.

 https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/fifa-world-cup-2026-hosts-cities-dates-usa-mexico-canada 

Answer 1

The biggest sporting event in the world will be getting even bigger this year, with an addition of 16 more teams to be added to the tournament. The World Cup in 2022 only had 32 countries participating but in 2026, the tournament held in North America will have 48 total countries competing for soccer glory. More teams means that there will be more games, which only translates to a higher viewership and fan engagement, as well as higher levels of revenue. FIFA president Gianni Infantino projects an additonal billion dollars will be generated during the 2026 World Cup, and promises to reinvest these higher earnings back into soccer, towards smaller teams and less devolped culturally soccer fans, to continue to grow the sport. FIFA doesn't want to stop with 48 teams and many FIFA officals, mostly backed by CONMEBOL, the South American club team organization is pushing for a 64 team tournament to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup (1930) in 2030.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37637162/what-world-cup-look-2026-48-teams-more-groups-more-venues-more-games

This article explains the prediction of higher earnings due to the growth of the teams in the World Cup
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6658187/2025/09/24/world-cup-64-teams-explained-fifa/

The Athletic speaks on the potential growth to 64 teams, and the backers and reasons behind the proposed growth.
Both of my sources are very non baised, and they are simply reporting events and changes to the World Cup. There could be some bias in the idea that these news outlets would be excited for a further expansion of the World Cup because they would have more teams to cover, and new players and nations to create content from.

Answer 2

The Claim states that the FIFA World Cup will be the biggest and largest held to date, with 48 total teams competing in the cup. This claim is true. FIFA, also known as the International Federation of Association Football, has decided to add several teams and play at even more locations. Looking at the website for FIFA link. The World cup happens every 4 years and in 2022 there were only 32 teams competing in the tournament, making it much smaller than the new upcoming tournament. With more teams competing in the tournament, this leads to more games being played and a bigger tournament overall. Going Inisde FIFA and thier numbers on the past 2022 World Cup I found that there were 2.45 million presale tickets sold. This means that before the event started, there were that many tickets already sold to fans. This coming year for 2026 ESPN states that there are already 4.5 million presale tickets sold, leading to much more generated revenue for the coming World Cup. This shows that this sport is continuing to grow bigger each event and more and more people are falling in love with the sport. In the end, the World Cup will be the biggest it has ever been for this coming year and there will be a total of 48 teams competing, even though there are more teams who are able to qualify.

Answer 3

FIFA, the event's official organizer, has confirmed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup would include 48 teams, making it the biggest ever. According to their website, the competition, which is co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, will have 48 teams instead of the customary 32, making it the largest World Cup ever. Major sports organizations like ESPN and the BBC support this information as well by using FIFA's official statements. In order to boost worldwide participation and commercial success, the decision to expand was made public in 2017. This claim is reliable and well-supported because FIFA is the official source and has a vested interest in promoting the event, as confirmed by other respectable media.