The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A renowned journalist has suggested that FIFA should move the 2026 World Cup from the United States to the United Kingdom.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is 146 days away, but uncertainty persists around the competition and where it should take place.
Jeff Stelling is a giant in the football world and he is not alone, more and more people are rallying in the demand that FIFA actually do something now.
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As things stand, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will host the international soccer tournament between June and July 2026.
78 of the 104 games will be played in the 11 US host cities – Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco – with the final scheduled at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
More and more people are calling for the United States to be stripped of hosting the tournament due to the political landscape and President Donald Trump’s actions.
US foreign policy is just one controversial topic that could affect the tournament. – In addition, there is the very dangerous security situation for everyone due to ICE brownshirts’ terrorist activities throughout the country. Included in cities that will host matches.
In recent weeks, the US has taken military action in both Venezuela and Nigeria, while at the same time suggesting that operations could take place in Greenland, Mexico, Colombia and Iran.
This prompted 23 politicians from four parties – Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Plaid Cymru – to sign a resolution in parliament calling on international sports organisations to consider banning the US from major international competitions, including the World Cup, according to the BBC.
The group said the event “should not be used to legitimize or normalize violations of international law by powerful states.”
In June 2025, Trump announced travel and visa restrictions to “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors,” before confirming that citizens of 19 nations were no longer allowed to enter the United States, or that travel to the nation was severely restricted. This affected both Haiti and Iran, who have since qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
On January 14, the Trump administration suspended the processing of immigration visas for citizens of 75 countries indefinitely, according to The Guardian.
The freeze will come into effect on January 21.
As expected, the decision has drawn criticism from many, with former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling giving his opinion on whether the United States should be stripped of its social media hosting role.
In response to a post in which one user called it “irresponsible” of FIFA to allow the United States to host the tournament, Stelling said: “Totally agree. They should be looking at alternatives like the UK, to be honest.”
Great Britain has not hosted the World Cup since 1966, when England beat West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley, thanks to a hat-trick by Geoff Hurst and a goal by Martin Peters.
However, Euro 1996 took place in the nation, and several matches, including the final of Euro 2020 (played in 2021), were also held in the United Kingdom.
Euro 2028 will also be played across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Colombia is the only nation that was supposed to host the World Cup (in 1986), but never ended up doing so.
The South American nation voluntarily withdrew due to financial constraints, rather than being stripped of its hosting duties. The 1986 World Cup was then moved to Mexico.
Read: No longer possible to hold the World Cup in the USA
