The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest held to date with 48 competing teams

Question

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest in history in several important ways, starting with the number of teams participating. For the first time, 48 national teams will compete in the final tournament, an increase from 32 in previous editions. This expansion shows FIFA’s goal to make the tournament more inclusive worldwide. It will allow more countries from different confederations to qualify and be represented on soccer’s biggest stage. With more teams, there will also be more matches. Opposed to previous years holding 64 matches, the 2026 cup will hold 104 matches.

In addition to the size in teams and matches, 2026 will be the most geographically spread World Cup ever. The tournament will be co-hosted by three countries, the USA, Canada, and Mexico across 16 host cities. Eleven cities in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.

Answer 1

The Claim states that the FIFA World Cup will be the biggest and largest held to date, with 48 total teams competing in the cup. This claim is true. FIFA, also known as the International Federation of Association Football, has decided to add several teams and play at even more locations. Looking at the website for FIFA link. The World cup happens every 4 years and in 2022 there were only 32 teams competing in the tournament, making it much smaller than the new upcoming tournament. With more teams competing in the tournament, this leads to more games being played and a bigger tournament overall. Going Inisde FIFA and thier numbers on the past 2022 World Cup I found that there were 2.45 million presale tickets sold. This means that before the event started, there were that many tickets already sold to fans. This coming year for 2026 ESPN states that there are already 4.5 million presale tickets sold, leading to much more generated revenue for the coming World Cup. This shows that this sport is continuing to grow bigger each event and more and more people are falling in love with the sport. In the end, the World Cup will be the biggest it has ever been for this coming year and there will be a total of 48 teams competing, even though there are more teams who are able to qualify.

Comments

This claim and comment is well-supported with factual evidence from credible related sources such as FIFA's official website as well as ESPN. You effectively show growth through data such as ticket sales and team expansion data, as well as tie in comparisons to the 2022 tournament. The information flows well and overall supports your claim, showing how soccer's global popularity continues to rise.

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This claim is very well researched with many background information. It was easy to access all the information that you provided in your writing. Great writing!

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I think your answer to this prompt is a very well written response. I am personally not a big soccer fan and found it really interesting reading your response. I had no idea that they were adding more teams to the tournament. I think it's hard as an American to comprehend how big soccer is around the world because even though it is a popular sport in the states, it's the biggest in the world. Great job on your response!

Answer 2

The biggest sporting event in the world will be getting even bigger this year, with an addition of 16 more teams to be added to the tournament. The World Cup in 2022 only had 32 countries participating but in 2026, the tournament held in North America will have 48 total countries competing for soccer glory. More teams means that there will be more games, which only translates to a higher viewership and fan engagement, as well as higher levels of revenue. FIFA president Gianni Infantino projects an additonal billion dollars will be generated during the 2026 World Cup, and promises to reinvest these higher earnings back into soccer, towards smaller teams and less devolped culturally soccer fans, to continue to grow the sport. FIFA doesn't want to stop with 48 teams and many FIFA officals, mostly backed by CONMEBOL, the South American club team organization is pushing for a 64 team tournament to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup (1930) in 2030.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37637162/what-world-cup-look-2026-48-teams-more-groups-more-venues-more-games

This article explains the prediction of higher earnings due to the growth of the teams in the World Cup
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6658187/2025/09/24/world-cup-64-teams-explained-fifa/

The Athletic speaks on the potential growth to 64 teams, and the backers and reasons behind the proposed growth.
Both of my sources are very non baised, and they are simply reporting events and changes to the World Cup. There could be some bias in the idea that these news outlets would be excited for a further expansion of the World Cup because they would have more teams to cover, and new players and nations to create content from.

Comments

Great use of sources, and difference of sources. They're giving different information to the same goal and end.

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This is a well supported comment with external links to multiple different trusted sources such as the New York Times and ESPN. You also provided data from the tournament in 2022 and how it is expanding to 48 teams along with outlining potential growth for the future.

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This fact check is strong because it uses credible and non-biased sources like ESPN and The New York Times (The Athletic) to support its claims. These sources are very well known for being accurate and rely on evidence from verified FIFA officials making them trustworthy. These sources compliment each other with ESPN focusing on the confirmed 48-team expansion and The Athletic explaining the potential move to 64 teams. Your fact check also acknowledges the possible bias making sure readers get the full understanding of what the sources are saying.

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Good use of sources! You make a solid point in recognizing that both ESPN and The Athletic generally aim for neutrality in reporting — they’re reputable sports journalism outlets known for factual coverage. However, I think your claim that they’re “very non-biased” might overlook the subtle ways bias can show up even in straightforward reporting.

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I appreciate not only the strength of your sources in your reply, but also your explanation of the entire situation. Concise and accurate, which are both ideal qualities in a fact check.

Answer 3

FIFA, the event's official organizer, has confirmed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup would include 48 teams, making it the biggest ever. According to their website, the competition, which is co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, will have 48 teams instead of the customary 32, making it the largest World Cup ever. Major sports organizations like ESPN and the BBC support this information as well by using FIFA's official statements. In order to boost worldwide participation and commercial success, the decision to expand was made public in 2017. This claim is reliable and well-supported because FIFA is the official source and has a vested interest in promoting the event, as confirmed by other respectable media.

Comments

Please include source links for every fact-check. Thanks!

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This is a very good answer just needs your sources.

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This fact check has valid information to back up the claim but does not provide links or direct quotes from the article. Another way to make this answer stronger is providing a second source that is also stating this to be true. Including BBC and ESPN's articles would help validate this even more. This is a good start, just needs to be more concise.

Answer 4

This claim is true, the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup will be the largest held to date with 48 teams competing, according to the Olympics website. "To be hosted across the USA, Mexico, and Canada in June and July 2026, this is the first time that the world football tournament will include 48 teams, a first increase since the adoption of 32 teams back in 1998" (Olympics). The Olympics is a credible source as it is the official website, ran by the International Olympic Committee. On this site they provide information about the Olympic Games, medals, results, news, and more. There are no links attached to the information, but key points including dates and country names are bolded. The article also includes a list of the teams who have already been qualified. Another source that provides this information is the official FIFA website. "The FIFA World Cup 26 is firmly in view for fans of the beautiful game around the globe with a number of firsts as three nations - Canada, Mexico and the USA - will co-host, and a record 48 teams will take part" (FIFA). There is a link provided within this statement that directs to a section of the website dedicated to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Therefore the claim that the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup will be the largest held to date with 48 teams competing is backed by at least two credible sources including the official FIFA website.

Comments

This is a great fact check! I like how thorough you were with your sources. I think you had a great amount of research and effectively proved your evidence and the claim posted.

Answer 5

This claim is 100% true! According to the official FIFA website, this will be the first year where a record of 48 teams will be competing for the trophy and the first time three countries will co-host the iconic tournament. In the last FIFA World Cup in 2022, only 32 teams were in attendance which shows a drastic jump compared to the numbers of this upcoming tournament. According to ESPN, the comparison between the number of presale tickets in 2026 compared to 2022 was incomparable. For 2026, the current number of presale tickets is 4.5 million compared to in 2022, where the number was only 2.45 million presale tickets sold. This only shows the high amount of anticipation for the upcoming tournament and the growing love for the sport. Ultimately, the claim of this being the largest World Cup in history is correct and it is highly anticipated.

Comments

This is a very well written claim. You provided great detail and statistics coming from very credible sources that back up your claim. These details are very important and I can tell you put care into finding this information. I very much enjoyed reading this.

Answer 6

Think of this as your investigation log. Answer each question to explain what you discovered and how you got there.

1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings.
2. What primary sources did you find (e.g., transcripts, videos of politician speeches, tweets from public figures, scientific studies)? For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
3. What secondary sources did you find (e.g., newspapers, magazines)? Only use secondary sources if sufficient primary sources are not available. For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
4. What potential biases or interests might each of your sources have?
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking?
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking?
7. What happened when you tried contacting the person or group who made the original claim? (Always try to contact them—it’s okay if you don’t get a reply. For example, if the claim is that the president said something, try reaching out to the administration. If it was a Bluesky user, message that user on Bluesky.)

Answer 7

This claim regarding the FIFA World Cup now beginning to host 48 teams instead of 32 for one of the worlds biggest spectacles is true. First, I like how you mention that more teams will be able to be involved and represent their countries. It gives a voice to some of those countries that have yet been able to participate. Though, according to ESPN there are still 12 slots being competed for the FIFA World Cup is deciding to go through with the 48 team tournament  https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40297462/2026-world-cup-how-nations-world-qualify  There are smaller subsets of tournaments being held around the world to have those slots filled. Second I appreciated how you mentioned there will be more matches being held with more worldwide coverage. More countries and their fans will have the opportunity to be able to see some of the action. For the first lottery system of the 4.5 million lottery entries, 1 million tickets have been sold. There’s 7.1 million in total, a little more than double the ticket sales from 2022 https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/soccer/1-million-tickets-sold-2026-fifa-world-cup-hosted-north-america-rcna238039 

Overall from this claim holding true, it has been prefaced fairly well that coverage and viewership for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup will nearly double, allowing tons of new fans to get to experience this event. 

Answer 8

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest in history in several key aspects, and this claim is accurate. It will feature 48 national teams for the first time, expanded from the traditional 32-team format used since 1998. The tournament will also include 104 matches, compared to the 64-match structure in recent editions. So yes, this expansion reflects FIFA's effort to make the event more inclusive and globally representative. It will be co-hosted by 3 countries: the united states, Canada, and Mexico, a first in World Cup history. The 16 confirmed host cities include 11 in the US, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada. This does make it the most geographically spread tournament to date. The U.S. will host the majority of the matches, including all games from the quarterfinals onward. Overall, each of the core claims about team count, match total, host nations, and city distribution is factually supported by current official sources. Therefore, the statement about the 2026 World Cup being the largest and most inclusive tournament in FIFA history is true.

https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/match-schedule-fixtures-results-teams-stadiums

Answer 9

In 2026 the FIFA World Cup will be the largest sporting event in the world in its own rights as well as unreal viewership. Now for the very first time the tournament will feature 48 teams instead of 32, which was the old amount of teams. The reasoning behind this expansion is to raise the level of play and add chance for a more "underrated" team to make a run similar to the NCAA's March Madness.

On top of this new twist to the tournament this will be a great time to be a soccer fan in North America. United States of America, Canada, and Mexico will all be hosting games in 2026 with eleven cities in America hosting followed by three in Mexico and two in Canada. Overall this will be a new version of the World Cup and it should be an amazing time.  

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6658187/2025/09/24/world-cup-64-teams-explained-fifa/

Answer 10

The original claim that Fifa is allowing more teams for the first time in history is correct. I found that  The 2026 edition of the World Cup will be the first with 48 teams, and Hosting of the tournament will be shared between Canada, America and Mexico. The primary source I found is located on the International federation of international football or FIFA. I learned from that website that the claims made here are real.