January 8 – FIFA has unveiled a suite of new technologies developed in partnership with Lenovo that are designed to touch officiating, performance analysis and broadcast presentation within football.
January 8 – FIFA is marching towards a fully technologised game and took another decisive step this week, with confirmation that every player at this summer’s World Cup will be represented by a physically accurate “AI avatar” to help make offside decisions.
January 8 – Marriott Bonvoy has been announced as the Official Hotel Supporter in North America of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the tournament comes to the region for the first time in more than three decades.
January 7 – New data from independent media outlet Peripheral shows which nation’s fans have been priced out of the 2026 World Cup.
January 6 – Polish icon Zbigniew Boniek has never been one to soften his views for the sake of diplomacy, and his verdict on FIFA’s expanded World Cup is typically direct.
January 5 – TVRI has secured free-to-air rights in Indonesia for football’s biggest tournament, the FIFA 2026 World Cup, ensuring nationwide access to the expanded 104-match festival this summer.
December 29 – FIFA has announced a record breaking 150 million ticket requests for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Fans from more than 200 countries have applied at the halfway point of the ongoing Random Selection Draw ticketing phase that opened December 11.
December 18 – The FIFA Council has approved a record $655 million prize fund for the 2026 World Cup, a massive 50% increase on Qatar 2022 prize money.
December 18 – The U.S. administration has tightened the screws on the 2026 World Cup again, with yet more directives and an expansion of travel restrictions.
December 18 – On January 3, 2026, FIFA and Coca-Cola will send the World Cup trophy on a global meet-and-greet road show, and just like the Olympic flame, this tour is less about logistics and more about symbolism.
December 17 – Following a global outcry, FIFA has slashed a limited number of World Cup tickets for qualified team’s most loyal fans to $60. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) called it an “appeasement tactic”.
The $60 World Cup tickets will also apply to the World Cup final, the showpiece match at the MetLife Stadium that will conclude next summer’s supersized 48-team World Cup in North America. Previously, FIFA had set the price at $4,185.
December 17 – Nigeria has filed an official complaint to FIFA over Congo DR who they claim used between six and nine ineligible players in their 2026 qualifying campaign.
December 17 – The New York-New Jersey host committee on Wednesday unveiled plans for a 10,000-capacity World Cup fan zone inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, home to the US Open tennis tournament.
December 14 – Iran Football Federation president Mehdi Taj, speaking on state television, has issued a warning that some payers and staff may be denied entry to the US for the 2026 World Cup because they have served in the military.
Iran have been drawn into Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand and will play two group games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
December 15 – After a week of global criticism from fan groups and media over the sky-high ticket prices set for fans of participating nations, FIFA has responded by not commenting on the price levels but pointing to the supply and demand economics of five million tickets being requested in the first 24 hours of the third sales phase for the 2026 World Cup.