FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, marked a 100 days to the kicks off of the World Cup 2026, with a strong message of unity, size, and historical value yesterday.
In a video message, the FIFA President highlighted the importance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.
“100 days to go until the kickoff of the greatest FIFA World Cup ever. Three host countries, 16 host cities, 48 participating teams, national teams, 104 matches in a little bit more than one month 39 days to be precise. This is history.”
Infantino highlighted the massive global reach of the tournament.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
Related Articles
“We’ll have seven million people in the stadiums, and we’ll have many more millions coming. Billions six billion people watching from home.”
The FIFA President also highlighted that although the numbers are impressive, the emotional value of the tournament is much more important.
“We’ll have debutants, we’ll have the usual world champions who will play. But most importantly, we will have the world coming together. And this is probably the most important fact in this particular period of time.”
Infantino also highlighted the massive global demand for the tournament.
“The global interest in this World Cup is absolutely unique. We’ve never experienced anything even remotely close to that.”
should have put them ahead in the 13th minute when he raced clear on the counter-attack, only for goalkeeper David Soria to block his close-range effort with a sharp right-footed save.
Soria excelled again in the 24th minute, producing a one-handed stop to deny Arda Guler after the Turkish midfielder weaved past three defenders on a dazzling run into the box.
The decisive moment arrived in the 39th minute. After Real failed to clear a cross, Satriano playing his seventh match since joining on loan from Olympique Lyonnais in January pounced on the loose ball on the edge of the box and lashed an unstoppable volley into the top left corner.
The Bernabeu crowd responded with boos at halftime, prompting Arbeloa to introduce Dani Carva
According to the FIFA President, the demand for tickets has crossed 500 million, despite only six to seven million tickets being available.
“We had ticket requests for over 500 million tickets. But to all the fans, don’t worry we still have and will still keep some tickets for the last sales phase which will start in April, a kind of last-minute sales phase.”
The interest in broadcasting the World Cup has also reached record levels.
· Gianni Infantino
“The demand on the broadcasting side is extraordinary. We’ll have the whole world literally standing still and watching it.”
Infantino repeatedly emphasized the aspect of unity, underlining the ability of football to bring people together.
“We need events, we need occasions to unite the world. And this FIFA World Cup will truly unite the entire world around an emotion, around a passion around football.”
He also pointed out that even in the countries that will not participate in the World Cup, fans will support teams and celebrate the event.
“In every country in the world the participating 48 countries and all the others where people will choose one of the participating teams to cheer for, they will celebrate this magic moment of football and of the world coming together.”
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The final qualification spots will be decided later this month in the European and intercontinental playoffs.
“Six more teams to qualify, six more countries that will celebrate being part of the World Cup. It’s a very, very important moment in the history of this World Cup.”
With intercontinental playoff matches to be held in Mexican cities and European playoffs to be held across the continent, Infantino believes that the excitement will only grow once the complete lineup is known.
“As of next month, we will know all 48 teams and we can really start getting seriously excited about the World Cup.”
With 104 matches over 39 days and billions expected to watch, the countdown has officially entered its final stretch and according to Infantino himself, football is about to witness a historic global celebration.
–