Vancouver's FIFA World Cup matches likely to increase and include "big countries" in 2026

Momentum is on Vancouver’s side as we get closer to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

When Vancouver was named one of the tournament’s 16 host cities last year, it was expected that BC Place would see five or six matches. That’s because Canada (Vancouver and Toronto) and Mexico were allotted 10 games each, with the US hosting the remaining 60 matches.

But that plan changed once FIFA decided to make a change to the already-expanded tournament format back in March.

Instead of dividing the tournament up into 16 groups of three countries each, as was originally planned for the 48-team tournament, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will have 12 groups of four. That change increases the total games from 80 to 104, with 24 extra group-stage matches, and perhaps more matches for Vancouver and Toronto.

FIFA vice president and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani confirmed the possibility of more matches for Vancouver recently during a keynote address for the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

“If I had a loonie for every time I got asked that, I could probably pay off the national debt,” Montagliani joked when he was asked about how many matches Vancouver would get in 2026.

“The original agreement between the countries, when we started on the process of the bid… was 10, 10, and 60. But now we have 104 games. So we have an opportunity to probably get a few more.”

Just how the additional 24 matches will be split between the 16 host cities remains to be seen, but surely Montagliani would have a good idea of which way FIFA is leaning. And the East Vancouver native seemed optimistic about both the quantity and quality of matches for his hometown.

“I don’t see Vancouver getting less than five, obviously, and Toronto. Hopefully we’ll get more, because there’ll be more games at the table. Obviously, you know, I know a guy from Vancouver that’s in that room. So I’ll have a word with him.”

After referencing Vancouver not getting “less than five” matches, Montagliani mentioned Vancouver hosting “half a dozen” games, and possibly more than that. He noted that high-profile teams will likely visit BC Place, and that the Canadian men’s national team will likely play games in both Vancouver and Toronto.

“Those sort of half a dozen games, and possibly more, will span likely three weeks in terms of the scheduling. So it’s almost a month that you’re going to have teams here, fans here. So it’s a tremendous opportunity.

“The countries you will have here — it’s 12 groups of four, we changed that — you’re going to have some big countries here. Which ones, I don’t know. But you’re going to have some big countries that have real football tradition[s]. Canada will play in both cities, likely. How many? I don’t know, that’s something we need to look at. So the opportunity will be tremendous in terms of the games, and you’ll have some quality games.”

Montagliani said fans can expect to find out the match schedule in September or October, which will include a breakdown of matches for each host city.

Needless to say, he’s excited about Canada hosting the men’s World Cup for the first time.

“It is nothing like any event we’ve ever had in this country. Nothing,” Montagliani told the crowd gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre. “This is the globe, 211 countries. No other event in the world has that capacity.”

“The 104 games will be [like] 104 Super Bowls… The average [television] audience in Qatar for a game was 375 million. That is three times the Super Bowl. So every game, and in the group stage you’ll have four games a day, there’ll be 300-plus million people watching that game.”

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