When the story made rounds on the Internet that “a half-time show will be organized” in the finale of the upcoming film World Cup, a tweet summed up the mood of the global football public in anticipation of the biggest event of 2026.
“I knew we shouldn’t have told them about football,” the tweet said.
This year the spotlight will be on the USA, Canada and Mexico, where the 23rd World Cup is taking place. Beforehand, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the President of the United States of America will celebrate the official opening. Donald Trump They’re acting like they’re having a private party. And football fans least like it when the most important (minor) things in their lives are flaunted by those in power.
Fair atmosphere
It was in the summer of 2018, when at the FIFA Congress in Moscow (yes, in Moscow, that was a different time) it was decided that three North American neighbors would host the best teams in the world, and hardly anyone could have imagined in what a good atmosphere the preparations for this tournament would come to an end.
The United States had hosted the World Cup thirty years earlier, but the cultural rebirth of “soccer” had no significant impact on the World Cup experience.
But circumstances have changed in the meantime.
In contrast to the 1994 World Cup, before which the USA had only recently founded its own league in order to gain the right to host it, the MLS is now enjoying growing popularity.
Viewership increased 29 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year and is now approximately 3.7 million per week during the regular season. That’s still significantly less than the NBA or NFL, but Lionel Messi’s move after winning the “Goddess” in 2022 has shown that the MLS has enormous potential not only in the USA, but also beyond.
Gianni Infantino knows this, and over the last decade he has gone from Suzana Mančić and the Champions League draw to becoming the most powerful man in football. Few people in the world can claim to have played football with Putin and toasted with Trump during their lifetime. And whoever holds such a position, their desire only grows.
Fortunately for him, even Trump is never tired of media attention and the adulation of important people, so everything would ensure that next year – if nothing else, then at least during the World Cup – we would see the “Americanization” of the world’s most popular sport.
There is time for football.
The recent drawing ceremony in Washington demonstrated how important a role “entertainment” will play in the entire story. The program lasted almost two and a half hours.
Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey, Selma Hayek and Danny Ramirez, as well as legends of classic North American sports such as Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Wayne Gretzky and Aaron Judge took the stage on December 5th. The evening was characterized by dancing and singing with performances by Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, Lauryn Hill and the Village People.
The organizers also addressed serious issues, particularly the unfortunate wars that have been waged in various parts of the world in recent years.
However, viewers got the impression that the moment was more dedicated to Donald Trump, the winner of the newly created FIFA Peace Prize, than to the people who are actually suffering, and that Infantino only used the opportunity to flatter the American president again with a dramatic speech.
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney kept a low profile, as is typical for their countries in this triple-host event, since Mexico and Canada together will host only a quarter of the total Games.
And then it was the group’s turn, almost an hour and a half into the show.
Quarter, halftime show and other performances
However, fans are most interested in what the World Cup itself will look like. The World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will be the first to feature 48 teams instead of 32. The number of games was increased from 64 to 104 and the number of match days from 32 to 39.
Initially it seemed like a “win-win” situation for everyone – the championship would be more inclusive, footballers would have more days to recover during the competition, and the FIA would have the opportunity to get rid of sponsorship, television rights and tickets, which was the main reason for the format change.
Only the fans remained dissatisfied, not only because they are naturally skeptical of innovation, but also because of the legitimate fear that this would dilute competition.
The game mode was not spared from innovations either. FIFA decided to introduce two additional three-minute breaks in the middle of both halves for the safety of players. This effectively divides the game into quarters, similar to basketball and football.
Game suspensions are nothing new in football, but have previously only been used when players were exposed to extreme weather conditions. Now FIFA announces that they will be mandatory at all World Cup games.
The finale in New Jersey will even feature a big halftime show modeled on the Super Bowl. It is not yet known who will give the concert between the two halves of the game, but it is certain that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin will make the selection.
Tickets only for selected people
We are used to watching the crème de la crème of American society from the sidelines and from the boxes at various sporting events across the Atlantic. One only has to remember Mike Tyson’s first fight after his release from prison and the list of those in attendance.
Americans aren’t the only ones, of course, but the fact that there’s a heavy emphasis on celebrities being at the center of the action on television and even on-site shows how different the sports culture there is from that of the rest of the world. It’s important to stage a spectacle, and if you want to take part in it, you have to dig deep into your pockets.
FIFA, under Infantina’s leadership, attempted to adapt World Cup soccer to the habits of American fans, which proved disastrous for those who traditionally travel with their national teams to major competitions.
Tickets for World Cup games in North America are three to five times more expensive than in Qatar. For comparison, the most expensive ticket for the finale four years ago was $1,600, while this summer it will cost at least $6,300.
In addition, ticket prices are based on the so-called “variable” pricing, which is characteristic of the American market for sporting and music events. This means that the price fluctuates depending on demand. It is estimated that particularly desirable tickets offered through resellers can fetch prices in excess of one hundred thousand dollars.
The fans were beside themselves. The European network of football fans, “Football Supporters Europe”, described this move as a “monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup”.
The world football governing body tried to ignore this by introducing a special pricing category called the “Supporter Entry Tier,” where prices start at $60. However, according to media reports, there will be too few tickets available at this price.
Who will have the upper hand in the end?
If we were to look from the football field to the bigger picture, we would discover many more grievances – from the suspension of Congo and Pakistan due to political influences within the alliance, while Infantino is simultaneously “honoring” the most powerful politician in the world, to the way the Trump administration treats refugees from Mexico with whom it was supposed to share the organization of the World Cup.
After all, this is nothing new for the organizers of the World Cup, who are always embroiled in some controversy (volume books could be written about Qatar alone).
However, it has never happened before that an undisputed FIFA leader has so damaged the identity of the World Cup and football by attempting to take advantage of a politician – even the President of the United States. The question now is who will ultimately have the upper hand in this relationship.
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