WEEKLY WHINE

Men’s World Cup expansion: Where?

Over the last few weeks, we here at GoobNet have spent our time examining FIFA’s recent decision to expand the Men’s World Cup to 48 teams.

• How? [a proposed draft schedule for the 2026 Men’s World Cup]
• Why?, by Edvard van de Kamp
• Why not?, by Gaby Gandalucci

See? Told you.

To this point, we have largely been concentrating on the 2026 Men’s World Cup. However, there will be more tournaments after that, presuming that FIFA, football, and Earth still exist. Assuming they do, let us now examine which nations might host these tournaments.

2026

As indicated in our draft schedule, we are assuming that the United States, Mexico, and Canada will jointly host the 2026 Men’s World Cup. We have selected sixteen match venues, each hosting one of the sixteen groups. Each venue will also host a round of 32 match involving the team that finished first in that group, and each venue will host a fifth match in one of the remaining elimination rounds.

• Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, CA, United States: Group J, final
• BC Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada: Group G, third place match
• Estadio Azteca, México, DF, Mexico: Group A [including opening match], semifinal
• New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, United States: Group N, semifinal
• Stade Olympique, Montréal, QC, Canada: Group O, quarterfinal
• Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Jal, Mexico: Group I, quarterfinal
• Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX, United States: Group F, quarterfinal
• Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, United States: Group B, quarterfinal
• Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, AB, Canada: Group C, round of 16 match
• Skydome, Toronto, ON, Canada: Group K, round of 16 match
• Estadio Monterrey, Guadalupe, NL, Mexico: Group E, round of 16 match
• Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, Pue, Mexico: Group M, round of 16 match
• Atlanta Pantheon Stadium, Atlanta, GA, United States: Group D, round of 16 match
• Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Landover, MD, United States: Group L, round of 16 match
• Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL, United States: Group H, round of 16 match
• Seahawks Stadium, Seattle, WA, United States: Group P, round of 16 match

2030

According to FIFA’s current criteria [which are, of course, subject to frequent change], the same confederation cannot host either of the next two Men’s World Cups, unless there are no other bids that meet the criteria for acceptance. Therefore, the AFC and CONCACAF would be ineligible to host in 2030.

We should also make some additional assumptions. Between 1958 and 2010, every tournament has alternated between Europe and the rest of the world. Of the next three tournaments, one, the 2018 tournament, will be played in Europe. Therefore, we propose a new rotation scheme: the Americas, then Europe, then the rest of the world.

So which European nation will host this centenary Men’s World Cup? Again assuming sixteen host cities, let us take a page from Michel Platini and hold this tournament across Europe. We propose holding the opening match in the San Siro in Milan, Italy, and the final in Wembley Stadium in London, England. The full list might look something like this:

• Wembley Stadium, London, England: final
• Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France: third place match
• San Siro, Milan, Italy: opening match, semifinal
• Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain: semifinal
• Munich Football Arena, Munich, Germany: quarterfinal
• Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia: quarterfinal
• Atatürk Olympic Stadium, İstanbul, Turkey: quarterfinal
• Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine: quarterfinal
• Baku National Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan: round of 16 match
• Eurostadium, Grimbergen, Belgium: round of 16 match
• New Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest, Hungary: round of 16 match
• Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands: round of 16 match
• Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal: round of 16 match
• Arena Naţională, Bucharest, Romania: round of 16 match
• Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden: round of 16 match
• Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales: round of 16 match

2034

In 2034, it will be the rest of the world’s turn. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is reportedly considering a joint bid for the 2030 tournament. Assuming that tournament goes to Europe as we have shown, let us invite ASEAN to bid for 2034. We might also see joint bids from west and central Africa, from north Africa, from the Middle East, and from Oceania. The lists of host cities might look like this:

• ASEAN:
  • Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
  • Phnom Penh, Cambodia
  • Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Palembang, Indonesia
  • Surabaya, Indonesia
  • Vientiane, Laos
  • Ipoh, Malaysia
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Shah Alam, Malaysia
  • Yangon, Myanmar
  • Manila, Philippines
  • Singapore, Singapore
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Buriram, Thailand
  • Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Oceania:
  • Adelaide, SA, Australia
  • Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  • Canberra, ACT, Australia
  • Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
  • Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  • Newcastle, NSW, Australia
  • Perth, WA, Australia
  • Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Nouméa, New Caledonia
  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • Christchurch, New Zealand
  • Dunedin, New Zealand
  • Wellington, New Zealand
  • Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
  • Pirae, Tahiti
• West/​Central Africa:
  • Limbé, Cameroon
  • Yaoundé, Cameroon
  • Kinshasa, Congo DR
  • Lubumbashi, Congo DR
  • Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
  • Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire
  • Bata, Equatorial Guinea
  • Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
  • Franceville, Gabon
  • Libreville, Gabon
  • Accra, Ghana
  • Kumasi, Ghana
  • Conakry, Guinea
  • Labé, Guinea
  • Abuja, Nigeria
  • Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• North Africa:
  • Algiers, Algeria
  • Annaba, Algeria
  • Blida, Algeria
  • Saïda, Algeria
  • Borg El Arab, Egypt
  • Cairo, Egypt
  • Port Said, Egypt
  • Suez, Egypt
  • Casablanca, Morocco
  • Fez, Morocco
  • Marrakech, Morocco
  • Rabat, Morocco
  • Rades, Tunisia
  • Sfax, Tunisia
  • Sousse, Tunisia
  • Tunis, Tunisia
• Middle East:
  • Manama, Bahrain
  • Esfehan, Iran
  • Tabriz, Iran
  • Tehran, Iran
  • Amman, Jordan
  • Kuwait City, Kuwait
  • Beirut, Lebanon
  • Muscat, Oman
  • Doha, Qatar
  • Lusail, Qatar
  • Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Makkah, Saudi Arabia
  • Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2038 AND BEYOND

In 2038, we will return to the Americas. Since North America hosted a splendid tournament in 2026, this time we would return to South America, perhaps a joint bid involving Uruguay and Argentina, and perhaps Paraguay or Chile as well.

For the 2042 Men’s World Cup, we might begin to concentrate on specific regions within Europe, like Scandinavia, the Danube region, or the Black Sea region. We here at GoobNet, however, will be hoping for a joint bid involving Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg.

Then, in 2046, one of the above bids for 2034 should get the nod. We will then continue onward in that fashion until such time as FIFA expands the Men’s World Cup again. The first tournament to involve 64 teams will surely be Luna 2062, with the final to be played at Buzz Aldrin Stadium in Tranquillityville.