In the United States, the most diverse World Cup men’s soccer in history takes place at a moment when the number of foreigners in this country is decreasing.
Canada, Mexico and the US will host games on 11th June 2026. US hosts the most matches including championship match.
In 2026, the cup will also host 48 teams, which is the most ever.
In its nearly century-long existence, this competition has been the most popular sporting event and attracted the greatest number of travelers. Many people spend their personal savings in order to attend the games to support their favorite teams and country.
The International Federation of Association Football World Cup (Fifa), which is held every four years by the International Federation of Association Football, serves as an important platform for exchanges and meetings between cultures.
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Qatar, a nation of just over 2,000,000 people, attracted about 1.4 millions visitors for the 2022 World Cup. It is estimated that the number of travelers for the World Cup in 2026 will drop from 1.4 million to 1.2 due to activities by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). The number is still significant.
In my role as a professor in intercultural communication and with decades of experience connecting communication to culture, the World Cup has been of special interest. It is impossible to overstate the cultural exchanges that occur when global travelers attend the World Cup.
Contact between people who have different beliefs, values, and norms is the basis of intercultural communication. The honeymoon phase is the term used by cultural communication theory to describe such short-term exchanges.
This is a crucial stage in the cultural exchange that promotes social comfort and helps to learn.
This helps to reduce anxiety when interacting with a new culture. The encounters extend beyond stadiums where games will be held. These encounters include those in local stores, public transport, hotels and bars, as well as other places. It is possible to watch remotely.
The power of matches on the field can transcend the current politics and create cultural unity.
Football as a cultural exchange
The spread of the fan culture around the globe is a result of cultural encounters that took place at past World Cups. Consider the popularity of stadium waves or the use of vuvuzelas, which are coloured plastic horns.
In order to create a wave, sections of stadium fans must stand up in turn. The wave is a spectacular spectacle which spread around the globe after the magnificent scenes of the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico.
The 2010 World Cup saw a South African tradition, which involves blowing a vuvuzela by fans, spread around the globe. The noise was loud enough to make people want to stop it.
Few fans, however, have continued the tradition.
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The World Cup is not complete without a cultural exchange. This will not be different for the 2026 World Cup.
The media tends to focus more on vivid exchanges such as the vuvuzela and wave, but there are also other types of interactions that take place at an interpersonal or small-group level. These exchanges are often just as lasting. These exchanges can include cultural education, friendship, as well as the countering stereotyping and cultural hatred.
What will it look like in the US
US offers a great platform for cultural exchange. It has always been the country that accepted the most migrants, and this interaction over the generations left a lasting cultural mark. In the north west of the country, there is a significant Asian population and in the southern parts, it’s a major Mexican population.
In 2026 the US created a hostile environment for travellers.
ICE raids against suspected migrant population have dominated news headlines for several months. It has an effect on the numbers.
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The World Cup has changed since the US last tournament, from using spider cameras to drones and AI.
In 11 US cities, hotel bookings have fallen far short of expectations.
According to one report, the booking rate is “below expectation and even behind a normal June or July with no major events”. Human Rights Watch has urged Fifa not to allow the US Government to enforce an “ICE Truce”.
An expensive trip
Reports indicate that fans who want to go to the World Cup also worry about transport and ticket prices. Fifa’s marketplace (which serves as a platform for resale) advertised recently that “four tickets” to the World Cup final cost $2.3 million per ticket. Fifa doesn’t control the pricing of its resale website, but it does take 15% off the price paid by the buyer.
Fifa could make US$690,000 from just selling one ticket at this price. This is a huge amount for a soccer match.
Gianni Infantino, Fifa’s president, defended ticket prices by saying that it is the price of doing business on the US market. These prices are five times more expensive than those of the previous World Cup, which was held in Qatar.
After a backlash from the public, New Jersey’s transport system set the roundtrip fare at US$105. This was after a plan initially to raise it to US$150. The normal fare is US$18.
Hotel bookings have likely been affected by the high cost and strict immigration controls associated with the World Cup.
Broadcasting worldwide
Even global broadcasting of matches is a source of concern. China and India are the most populous countries at the World Cup. They may not reach the finals very often, but they watch the matches avidly. Fifa still hasn’t reached agreements on TV coverage and digital access with the providers of these countries.
The two countries are said to have accounted for 22,6% of global TV coverage at the World Cup in 2022. China alone was responsible for 49.8% viewing hours across digital and social media platforms.
Fifa’s huge demands for broadcasting rights are at the heart of this dispute.
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The 2030 World Cup will see Morocco co-hosting the event. Palestine and Western Sahara are likely to be hot issues.
Even those watching the World Cup from different places in the world can benefit from cultural exchanges. Even though it is not as effective as learning about culture through personal contact, the World Cup still offers opportunities for cultural exchange, depending on how the media covers the event.
Men’s World Cup which will celebrate 100 years of football in 2030, and co-hosted in Africa by Morocco is a major event for fostering understanding and cultural exchange. The 2026 World Cup is expected to do just that, but it also highlights the ability of the event to cause division.
