The wait is finally over.
After years of preparation, billions of dollars in investment and months of anticipation, the 2026 Fifa World Cup will kick off on Thursday night with an extravagant opening ceremony in Mexico before the hosts take on South Africa in the tournament opener.
For Mexico, the occasion marks another chapter in football history. The country becomes the first nation to host matches in three separate World Cups, having previously staged the tournament in 1970 and 1986. This time, however, it shares hosting duties with the United States and Canada as football’s biggest spectacle expands to an unprecedented 48 teams and 104 matches.
Yet as the first whistle approaches, conversations around the World Cup are not limited to tactics, title contenders or star players. Instead, immigration disputes, soaring ticket prices, political tensions and fan protests have emerged as dominant themes in the build-up to the tournament.
And for millions of football fans in India, the next month could also mean sleepless nights.
Midnight kick-offs and early-morning finishes for Indian fans
The 2026 World Cup will be unlike any previous edition for Indian viewers.
Spread across 16 host cities and four time zones in North America, the tournament’s schedule is set to dramatically alter viewing habits. While the opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10.30 pm IST, the opening match between Mexico and South Africa will start at 12.30 am IST on Friday.
Over the next month, Indian supporters will need to navigate a demanding schedule, with matches stretching through the night and continuing into the early morning hours. Depending on the venue, games will begin anywhere between midnight and late morning IST.
For a country with one of the world’s largest football audiences, the tournament promises a month-long test of endurance as fans prepare to sacrifice sleep in pursuit of football’s biggest prize.
A World Cup under a cloud
The World Cup has traditionally projected itself as a celebration capable of uniting nations and cultures. This year, however, the tournament arrives amid extraordinary off-field turbulence.
The United States, which will host 78 of the tournament’s 104 matches, including every fixture from the Round of 16 onwards, is currently engaged in a military conflict with Iran — one of the participating nations. That geopolitical backdrop has amplified scrutiny of immigration policies and visa procedures.
In recent weeks, Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was denied entry into the United States despite being appointed for World Cup duties. Iraqi footballers and support staff were reportedly detained for questioning upon arrival. Iranian officials have also raised concerns over visa delays affecting members of their delegation.
The incidents have fuelled criticism from supporters, governments and football officials who argue that host nations carry a responsibility to ensure smooth access for players, officials and fans.
Outside the stadiums, protests have also surfaced in parts of Mexico, reflecting concerns ranging from ticket affordability to broader political issues surrounding the tournament.
The ticket price debate refuses to fade
If immigration has become one flashpoint, ticket pricing has become another.
No issue has generated more discussion among supporters than the cost of attending matches.
Fifa initially priced group-stage tickets from $140, while standard seats for the July 19 final in New Jersey climbed as high as $8,680. Hospitality packages surged to $73,200, while prices for some premium final tickets rose to $10,990 before later increasing to $32,970.
The governing body’s dynamic pricing model has attracted criticism from supporters’ groups and consumer organisations, which argue that football’s premier event is becoming increasingly inaccessible to ordinary fans.
For comparison, ticket prices at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar ranged from $69 to $1,607.
The controversy has become so prominent that Fifa President Gianni Infantino addressed the issue directly on the eve of the tournament.
“If you sell it at a lower price point,” Infantino said, “in this particular market it would have gone — which is perfectly legal in this country … in secondary markets at much, much, much higher prices and where would the money go then? Well, to those who organise secondary markets or black market activities and not to football.”
Infantino argued that Fifa’s pricing strategy was designed to keep revenue within football rather than allowing resellers to profit from demand.
The Fifa president also dismissed concerns over investigations launched by authorities in several US states.
“When it comes to these legal investigations or complaints that were made in some states in the US,” he said, “we are very relaxed about it because before starting to sell six-and-a-half or seven million tickets we check what we do with the best lawyers, with the best experts.”
Immigration concerns reach Fifa headquarters
The Fifa president also faced questions about visa controversies involving teams and officials.
Addressing the case of Somali referee Artan, who was denied entry into the United States over unspecified security concerns, Infantino acknowledged Fifa’s limitations.
“We don’t control everything. We try. We’ll discuss, we will speak, we’ll see. Maybe sometimes it’s good as well to just chill, relax,” he said.
“We try to solve everything. Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.”
Artan had been set to become the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup.
Infantino defended Fifa’s efforts to ensure Iran’s participation despite the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Washington.
“I think it has already been successful to bring Iran to play in America,” he said. “I don’t know who would have managed to do that.”
The Iranian team eventually shifted its training base to Mexico and plans to fly into the United States shortly before matches.
Bigger than ever before
Beyond the controversies lies the tournament itself.
The 2026 edition is the largest World Cup in history, featuring 48 nations instead of 32 and expanding from 64 matches to 104. Fifa expects the competition to generate approximately $11 billion in revenue and attract billions of viewers worldwide.
Infantino went even further in his assessment.
The Fifa president described the World Cup as “the biggest event probably in the history of mankind”. Such claims may sound ambitious, but they underline the scale of the challenge facing organisers.
For the next month, football will dominate conversations across continents. New heroes will emerge, old rivalries will be renewed and one nation will ultimately lift the trophy in New Jersey on July 19 (July 20 according to Indian Standard Time (IST).
Yet as Mexico prepares to welcome the world for the opening ceremony, the tournament begins carrying more baggage than any World Cup in recent memory.
The football may finally be ready to start.
Whether it can reclaim centre stage from the controversies surrounding it remains the tournament’s first big question.
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