ConfirmedWorld Football
The 48-team World Cup: what is actually confirmed about 2026
Three host nations, an expanded field and a longer tournament. The structural facts, separated from the projections that surround them.
Sections
World Football
FIFA competitions, global governance and the international calendar.
AnalysisWomen's Football
Women's football's decisive decade was administrative, not athletic
Licensing rules, minimum standards and dedicated continental competitions did more for the game's level than any single tournament.
AnalysisWorld Football
Six confederations, one calendar: the map every football story sits on
UEFA, CAF, AFC, Concacaf, CONMEBOL and OFC divide world football between them. Their differences in size explain more disputes than any single controversy.
AnalysisAfrica
Three teams, one trophy: how the Africa Cup of Nations began
CAF was founded in 1957 and staged its first continental championship the same year, with a field small enough to fit in a single group.