Unbelievable: The 2026 World Cup lasts 40 days and 104 games will be played

The 2026 World Cup in North America will be the largest in history as it will be played with 48 teams and the definitive format has been long sought in terms of the way it will be conducted, the duration and the number of games played.

FIFA executives are ready to approve a format change that would add 24 more games to the world’s premier football event.

As the TIMES reports, this change will result in a 104-game marathon event lasting up to 40 days United States, Mexico and Canada. In fact, the team that wins the trophy will have to play eight games instead of the previous seven.

Of course, both the final winner and the finalist, as well as the two teams competing in the short final, will be awarded the same number of games. The final format is due to be approved on Tuesday after a meeting of FIFA’s 36-member governing body to give the “green light” to any changes.

According to the report, prepared by the authoritative TAriq Panya, The heads of the six football federations met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday night and no one objected to the proposed plan, according to knowledge of the meeting.

Adding more games adds more days, and 40 days is likely to anger player unions and clubs already worried about their top stars’ heavy workloads.

FIFA has projected $11 billion in revenue by 2026, almost $4 billion more than it earned in the same period leading up to the World Cup in Qatar. A FIFA spokesman declined to comment on the proposed format for 2026.

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