FIFA President Gianni Infantino has a way with words. Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on June 3, he described the millions of international soccer fans heading to the US for the 2026 World Cup as a “horde of barbarians, but happy barbarians invading the country.”
For FIFA, it’s cheerful marketing. For a city scrambling to prepare for one of the largest sporting events in history, it’s a reminder that the clock is ticking with the tournament opening on June 11.
The biggest World Cup ever hits American soil
The 2026 FIFA World Cup expands to 48 teams and 80 matches, making it the largest in the event’s nearly century-long history. Los Angeles is one of 16 host cities across North America, with SoFi Stadium in Inglewood set to host several marquee fixtures.
For context, the 2022 Qatar World Cup featured 32 teams. Adding 16 more squads doesn’t just mean more games. It means more fans, more logistics, more security headaches, and more economic activity flowing through host cities.
