The Fifa men’s World Cup 2026 could be too big for its own good

By David Cook, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Nottingham Trent University

The Fifa men’s football World Cup is one of the most powerful brands in sport, attracting global attention with a simple formula of rarity, intensity and consequence.

Every four years, this high-stakes tournament feels distinct from everything else in the football calendar. So changing the format is a gamble.

But the 2026 World Cup, held in the US, Canada and Mexico, will be the biggest yet, featuring lots more teams – 48, up from 32 in 2022 (and just 24 back in 1994). And this means a lot more…

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