FIFA reveals scale of record-breaking World Cup 2026 operation

FIFA has released new figures highlighting the enormous logistical and operational effort behind the FIFA World Cup 2026, describing the tournament as the biggest sporting event in history.

The expanded 48-team tournament was staged across Canada, Mexico and the United States over 39 days, featuring 104 matches in 16 Host Cities.

A total of 1,248 players competed before a cumulative stadium attendance of more than 6.8 million spectators.

According to FIFA, delivering the tournament required operations on an unprecedented scale, with 645 official sites across North America and nearly 300,000 accredited personnel supporting every aspect of the competition.

More than 43,000 volunteers, 73,700 accredited security personnel and 2,500 FIFA workforce members from 104 nationalities helped ensure the tournament ran smoothly.

Security operations involved more than one million shifts, while accreditation systems processed over five million scans across tournament venues.

The tournament also presented a major logistical challenge, with teams and officials travelling across three countries.

FIFA recorded 11,337 team movements during the competition, while approximately 300,000 square metres of specially grown sod were used for stadium pitches and training facilities.

The media operation was equally extensive. The International Broadcast Centre in Dallas served as the hub for global television coverage, with production teams using around 5,000 cameras and creating more than 24,000 pieces of content to broadcast every match to audiences worldwide.

FIFA also released figures illustrating the scale of fan services and stadium operations. During the tournament, supporters purchased nearly 675,000 hot dogs, more than 4.6 million soft drinks and bottled waters inside stadiums.

Beyond the match venues, FIFA Fan Festivals attracted more than nine million visitors across North America, while the organisation’s “Know Before You Go” communications programme sent more than 2,300 WhatsApp messages and 7.7 million emails to help fans navigate the tournament.

FIFA said the newly published statistics provide an insight into the scale and complexity of organising the expanded World Cup, noting that the figures are preliminary and that additional facts and operational data will be added to its World Cup Organisation resources in the coming months.