Accordingly, the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. According to the announcement from US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the Kennedy Center will be a place for national team officials, ambassadors, fans representing the host cities and global media representatives, along with many others... to aim for an important milestone in the journey to organize the 2026 World Cup, the largest and most anticipated tournament ever.
The Kennedy Center is the national cultural center of the United States, attracting millions of visitors each year to more than 2,000 performances, events and exhibitions. This will be the place to attract the attention of global audiences with the draw for the 2026 World Cup group stage, a tournament with the participation of 48 teams.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: We are delighted to host the most anticipated draw for the World Cup in history at the United States Cultural and Entertainment Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The draw is an important milestone of the tournament and will continue the remarkable preparation process for the biggest sporting event ever, as we prepare for many important FIFA events across North America throughout 2026.
The draw will start at 12:00 (local time) on December 5 and will be broadcast live to the three host countries and around the world, through FIFA's media partners.
Detailed information about the draw ceremony, including broadcast information and the entire draw process, will be announced on the FIFA.com homepage in the near future. The teams representing the host countries will be divided into positions A1 (Mexico), B1 (Canada) and D1 (USA), according to the competition schedule announced last year.
In addition to the draw, the play-off round for the final stages of the 2026 World Cup will also be held in Washington in March 2026. Then, on April 30, 2026, the 76th FIFA Festival will take place in Vancouver, Canada, before the opening match of the 2026 World Cup takes place on June 11, 2026 at Azteca Stadium, Mexico.
In addition to the 3 host countries, the 2026 World Cup has so far determined 10 qualifying teams including: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, New Zealand and Uzbekistan.
At the time of the draw, the organizing committee will determine 42/48 teams participating in the World Cup. The final six spots will be determined through the play-offs in March next year.
