FIFA unveils controversial and simple 2026 World Cup logo

The soccer body decided not to include any reference to the three hosts, the United States, Mexico and Canada, which drew widespread criticism.

(Twitter / FIFA

Published by

Alejandro Baños

18 de mayo, 2023

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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) unveiled the logo for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada between June 9 and July 19 of that year.

At a spectacular event held at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles (California), Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, revealed that

We Are 26 is the official slogan for the next edition of the World Cup.

Infantino and former Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazário were in charge of unveiling the official logo, which includes number 26 -in reference to the year in which the world's most important national level soccer tournament will be played- and a picture of the World Cup, the trophy awarded to the champions.

Criticism of the logo for not including references to host countries

In a statement, Infantino said that they have decided to give greater importance to aspects such as inclusiveness rather than references to the United States, Mexico and Canada, the three countries that will host the 2026 World Cup:

It is the moment when three countries and an entire continent proclaim in unison: we unite in one voice to welcome the planet and host the biggest, most spectacular and inclusive FIFA World Cup of all time. The competition will give the host countries and participating teams the chance to make history. In this sense, this unique brand is an important step on the road to 2026.

FIFA's simplistic approach to the logo design led to numerous criticisms on social media, where the organization was accused of lacking imagination. "They threw balls at the 2026 World Cup logo, I imagine it was a big brainstorm," one user ironized. "It looks like I did it with Paint" or "it lacks identity, personality. It conveys absolutely nothing. The worst logo in the history of the World Cup," commented others.

Three countries and 16 venues

The 2026 World Cup will be the 23rd edition of the tournament. It is the first time that three countries will host it - and the second time that more than one country will do so, the first being the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. The teams of Mexico, the United States and Canada are automatically qualified without the need to play in the preliminary round.

Mexico will have three venues located in the cities of Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. On the U.S. side, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and New York will be the U.S. cities to host the 2026 World Cup matches. Toronto and Vancouver will represent Canada. The 16 host stadiums total more than one million seats for fans to enjoy the live soccer spectacle.