WordsByPhinn

With the 2026 North America World Cup seeming like it is right around the corner I think it is a good time to go back and revisit some of the forgotten controversies from the 2022 World Cup and see if we can avoid making the same mistakes.

The 2026 North America World Cup will have games being played in Canada, Mexico, and most often America. This is the second time ever that more than one country has hosted the event and the first with three hosting it. There is a lot that goes into making such a world renowned event flow smoothly in the first place but having it go on simultaneously in three separate countries is a whole new level. The amount of work being done in preparation reminds me of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which seemed to be lavish beyond belief.

There was a lot of controversy that came with the lavish event though. FIFA and the Qatari government were both accused of hiding the deaths of hundreds or thousands of migrant workers hired to build the stadiums and training facilities required to host the cup. At first this was denied but after an investigation the FIFA’s subcommittee of human rights and social responsibility said that “severe human. rights impacts did ultimately occur in Qatar from 2010 to 2022.” There was over a decade of human rights violations including inhumane working conditions, wage theft, and lying about work casualties. Afterwards, the Qatari government attempted to pay reparations with a $350 million fund towards workers who experienced late or unpaid wages.

Along with this controversy, the Qatari government also came under fire due to its anti-LGBTQ laws in which homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison. This initially led to many feeling unsafe with the thought of attending an event they would otherwise not hesitate to go to if they had the chance. In response to the negative attention Qatar was getting a Qatari representative said that “Everyone is welcome” and encouraged attendance of all. This softened the blow but still left many concerned whether they were willing to risk going to a country where them being themselves was illegal.

Many countries would love to host the World Cup since it is the largest sporting event in there world and therefore brings in tons of money into the country. However, as we saw in 2022 countries who try and cut corners can commit horrible acts in the process. With the 2026 World Cup possibly being the biggest one of all time, there are understandably concerns about how something of this scale is going to be prepared and executed safely.

This will undoubtedly be the biggest World Cup in history coming up next year. Not only is this the first time that three countries are hosting matches but the tournament just got drastically bigger as the pool of eligible teams was expanded from 32 to 48 teams. This makes the tournament nearly twice the size and length with the total amount of games played in the tournament also jumps from 64 to 104 games. For over 100 world televised games to be going on throughout 16 cities and 3 nations, there is a ton of stress placed on the host nations to construct and prepare everything in not only a top of the line fashion but also with a strict deadline.

I truly do believe that the North American World Cup won’t have the controversies that we saw in the last World Cup not only because of repeating the same mistakes but also because a World Cup in America will always have a lot of news and reporting done on it so if something like this happens it will likely be caught earlier on. Overall I am incredibly excited for the 2026 World Cup and I can’t wait to see how it plays out, go U.S.A!