Well, now the talk is that the World Cup will return to the US in 2038 because they’re holding THREE matches in South America in 2030 ridiculous
I would bet they hold 18, all group games for the three hosts' groups, given the expanded format. Still a shame that the continent burns their slot in an abridged manner but 18 is at least "a thing" instead of 3.
Which is likely the case partly because 1) FIFA very much wants to come back soon because of how much more money they made at this World Cup, and 2) South America other than Brazil isn’t really equipped infrastructure wise and after tge white elephant projects of 2014 there’s not a large appetite in Brazil. What will happen though probably is they move to 64 and play more games in South America to assuage them.
I mean, we don't really know that the continent burns their slot. The rules about rotation change quite a bit, and no one has made any hard statement ... and even if they had, it can be taken back. South America is just really unlikely to make a bid, and even less likely to make a compelling bid. Some of that is FIFA being FIFA -- between the local economies and the stadia, the pricing and amenities won't be there in volume. No one way FIFA walks from their profits and perks. But also, there's a distinct lack of infrastructure across the board. Brazil has already let a number of their 2014 stadiums degrade; they will not be usable in 2038. Economies can change, but it seems highly unlikely any of these countries make massive strides in the relative World economy. You're looking at it being across a lot of countries, but you really can't easily mingle the North side and the South side of the continent all that easily. Can you do Brazil-Argentina-Paraguay-Uruguay-Chile? Maybe. I would not be shocked to see no real bid out of them, though.
In the end FIFA will set up the rules/process to push things in whatever direction they want it to go. If they want to come back in 2038 to the US everything will be set up so that’s the only decision that’s an option. And same thing if they want to go somewhere else. But who knows maybe Infantino is running the UN by then Donald Trump wants Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, to be the next secretary-general of the UN, sources have said.The US President wants the football administrator to replace António Guterres, the Portuguese incumbent who will step down in December.🔗… pic.twitter.com/e3Qc9FOssZ— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 22, 2026
The thing is they did that, and it didn't work. Yeah, there's a palpable sense of FOMO in DC government about missing out on the WC. I'd be shocked if they don't make it a top notch soccer venue. But that also includes a bigger cut for us, no more of this 1% BS. A tale of the pitfalls of dynamic pricing. I would have gone to a game myself, Juventus was in DC, except the prices were ridiculous until so late in the game that I'd already made other plans. I suspect this is to save face, they don't actually want the logistical headaches of hosting a whole tourney, but they want the ego stroke of getting a piece of the Centenary. I guess the question is whether they haven't already played the chess pieces for that with the 2030 layout.
Very possible though some chatter today France and Germany looking at a joint bid for 2038 or 2042 and France will not oppose Infantino being re elected as to not mess with this. And this may turn into Europe being guaranteed 2042 though I will say it’s a bit wild the World Cup hasn’t been in England since 1966 (compared to 1998 for France and 2006 for Germany) and they very much have the stadium infrastructure to host easily.
BREAKING: UEFA sources tell @talkSPORT all 55 Member Associations have decided to boycott the men's and women's World Cups in protest at Gianni Infantino's Fifa Forward Enterprise plans.UEFA members agreed on an emergency call that began around 2pm today that they will not… pic.twitter.com/QL9Uv8uU93— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 30, 2026 Assuming Infantino will back down after this
UEFA International Super Cup with guest spots incoming. Halftime shows and cooling breaks banned. No red card suspension dismissals except for Ronaldo.
It's ********ing insulting we haven't had it. It's time for european, certainly we have every reason to, but it's for us to leave FIFA. We've had the piss taken out of us for far too long.
We bid for 2018, told by every single FIFA member we were going to win in the lead up around 2008 ish or so... We got 1 solitary ********ing vote. 1. The only thing we've had is the piss taken out of us. We don't care about winning the world cup. We do, but there's only 1 team who can win it every 4 years so if you aren't the lucky 1 then the other 47 are miserable and that's a terrible way to look at it. Not having the world cup as the home of football in 60 years, and Mexico having it 3 times.. absolute ********ing farce and I say that as I loved Mexico's involvement in this tournament, but it's a piss take completely.
Like it or not, everyone in the world knows the US is the ideal place to hold these massive tournaments. We have the infrastructure no one else has, the mega stadiums, and the international diaspora for pretty much every country in the world. The bigger the tournaments get the more expensive they will be to host, and the infrastructure demands will grow exponentially. I, along with a lot of others, was worried how this tournament was going to go. But it seems almost 100% correct to say all the foreign fans and teams (except Iran) had an amazing time in the country. I'm not saying we "deserve" or are entitled to hosting tournaments.
This seems like a play more than 2042 but Germany also suggesting the rules could change for 2038 to make UEFA eligible https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7472762/2026/07/28/germany-world-cup-host-2038-2042/ But yes generally agree the next UEFA World Cup should be in the UK.
They did also initially plan to bid for 2030 and pulled back once it became clear they had no chance and pivoted to Euro 2028 instead with the thought process that a well run Euros would help them make the case when the World Cup next came up.
🚨 @TheAthleticFC CONCACAF 41 nations are meeting for an emergency call at 1230 ET. Concerns about process, transparency and why cash-rich FIFA needs external investment. Will they follow UEFA boycott or strengthen previous statement of concern? https://t.co/6UG7dmKdTX— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) July 30, 2026 There of course is no FIFA without UEFA.
I dont want to be bribing anyone to get a tournament. It might be the case, but I'm not supporting us if we do it.
And so here we are. I do agree with you that the tournament should make it's way back to England. But the World Cup has become big business, and until there's a financial incentive large enough, it won't be there. Sometimes that's bribes. Sometimes that market size. Sometimes it's both. History gets you thrown a bone like South America in 2030. It's not just Infantino, by the way. It's most of the people in power positions.
We didn't bribe anyone, just sent the FBI their way. But yeah England got as screwed as we did in that bidding. Absolute joke how long they've gone without hosting.
I'm always torn when FIFA comes up as I have two different and distinct thoughts: The first thought is obvious: 1.I cannot believe UEFA, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the USA and probably a couple of other countries haven't broken away and built a new international superstructure to compete with (and absolutely annihilate) FIFA. 2. Just as relevant....this whole.....Europe's been put upon thing is also, kind of colossally rich considering FIFA IS YOU!!!!!!!!!! You guys conceived it (I'm only realizing now after I wrote and posted this 20 minutes ago, you kind of meant England mostly, UEFA to a lesser degree, so I concede a bit on that, since England was long a skeptic of FIFA), built it, and ran it, as a racket, for nearly a century before leadership of the organization finally went to a country outside of Europe. My Dude, FIFA was run by you guys from 1904-1974. At this point, FIFA has been run by European d-bags from 1904-1974, and 1998-2026. The rest of the world has been in a leadership position from my birth year of '74, to the late nineties, but otherwise, it's entirely been run by Euro Trash corrupt d bags....So the corrupt phone calls ARE COMING FROM THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE AND ITS YOU!!! ..... Sorry, there's just something funny about FIFA being so appalling to Europeans, it's basically an organization, designed, built, and run for nearly the entirety of its 125 years by Europeans lol. This doesn't change the fact that FIFA should be obliterated and replaced. It absolutely should be, but I'm not sold at all that some UEFA consortium would be any better than the corrupt vile pieces of ---- trying to carve it up like a Turkey before this MAGA hell we live in finally burns out and turns my country into a blackened ash heap of forgotten dreams while these scumbags run off w/whatever is left of value from the ruins they've created...... So yeah, please do replace it, just realize the rot was fathered, raised, and taken over and run by Europeans for nearly all of the past 125 years....so unless your house is clean, which it absolutely is not, you'll probably see just another corrupt, fraudster machine put together by whomever the new bosses are, same as the old bosses etc ad infinitum....
If there was sanity, we'd revolve around East Asia, to North and South Africa, to South and Central America, to North America and back around again..... I think the big issue you have is unlike the rest of the world, UEFA is stuffed to the gills with countries that can solo host, or dual host quite easily: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England, as well as dual host country options like the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, maybe Sweden etc.... If FIFA wasn't insanely corrupt, I think it would have gone to England in '18, USA in '22, and probably Japan, South Korea, or China in '26, then Brazil/Uruguay/Argentina in '30 for the Centenario etc..... But it is insanely corrupt, so after a run of well deserving spots in Asia, and Africa, and South America in '02, '10 and '14, they then immediately went full pig to the trough, for bribes in '18 and '22, a giant money pile in '26, sentiment and a nod to the Euro's in '30, and then back to the bribes in '34 (the fact that the Saudis could win hosting duties, let alone Qatar at any point this century is flat out clinically insane. I would fully support UEFA, Conmebol, and Concacrap's powers linking up with Asia's powers to walk over this. FFS, Japan and South Korea are having to repeatedly play in AFC Cups in the Middle East, WHY?!?! (Over the past 20 years, East Asia has hosted one of the 1 per cycle confederation Championships, while the Middle East/Near East Asia, have hosted in '11, '19, '23 and '27)....
I’m trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing here. FIFA is a non-profit but not really. They’re just trying to do business above the table instead of bags of cash, are they not? I can’t help feeling that Europe’s visceral reaction to some of this is their realization that they are no longer the epicenter of world football financially. They do have some leverage with their boycott, it’s true. But what if FIFA calls their bluff?