The 2026 Soccer World Cup is scheduled to be held June 11th to July 19th in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It’s to be the biggest World Cup yet, with 48 national teams and 104 games to determine the one winning team.
There are 16 stadiums for the games: 11 in the United States, 2 in Canada, and 3 in Mexico.
FIFA (the international soccer governing body) has certain rules about sponsorship, and therefore the stadiums are not allowed to use their official names. Instead, other names are used for the World Cup.
For example, the AT&T Stadium is located in Arlington, part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. The stadium is the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s one of the World Cup venues, but for World Cup purposes, it can’t be called the AT&T Stadium but is officially referred to as “Dallas Stadium”.
Mexico has three stadiums serving as World Cup venues:
“ESTADIO MONTERREY”
This stadium is normally called BBVA. It’s located in Guadalupe, part of the Monterrey metroplex. It has a capacity of 53,500 spectators.
“ESTADIO GUADALAJARA”
This one is normally called Estadio Akron, located in Zapopan, part of the Guadalajara metroplex. Its capacity is 48,000.
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“MEXICO CITY STADIUM”
This one is the famous Estadio Azteca. It’s now officially known as Estadio Banorte, and from 1997-1998 was officially called Estadio Guillermo Cañedo. For World Cup purposes, it is officially “Mexico City Stadium”. But it’s hard not to call the stadium its original name of Estadio Azteca.
This stadium is the home of Mexican professional soccer team Club América.
Its altitude is 7,200 feet above sea level and it has a capacity of 87,523. It was constructed from 1961-1966. It is the biggest stadium in Latin America and the 8th-biggest soccer stadium in the world.
It’s been used in two previous World Cups, those of 1970 and 1986. In each of those World Cups, the final game was played in the stadium.
The two most famous soccer players in history, Pelé and Maradona, have each won a World Cup final game in this stadium.
The 1970 final saw Brazil defeat Italy 4-1. Here is the great Pelé celebrating that triumph:
In 1986, the stadium was the home of Argentina’s 3-2 victory over West Germany. Here is Argentine soccer star Maradona celebrating:
The NFL stages one game a season in Estadio Azteca.
Estadio Azteca has also been the venue for concerts, featuring, for example, Paul McCartney, Luis Miguel, U2, Elton John, The Three Tenors and Michael Jackson (5 sold-out shows in 1993).
It’s also been the site of political and religious rallies, including a 1999 appearance of Pope John Paul II.
It’s the famous Estadio Azteca, officially known in the World Cup as Mexico City Stadium:
