In lieu of a regular press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum and other federal officials gave a presentation on Monday morning about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada.
The presentation, held outdoors at the Los Pinos Cultural Complex on a cold Mexico City morning, had been scheduled for last Monday, but was postponed due to the Nov. 1 murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán.
⚽️ Jugadoras y jugadores de futbol en estilo libre de la FIFA México realizaron una exhibición durante la presentación de la Copa Mundial FIFA 2026, encabezado por la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum
VIDEO: @lalodinaa | EL UNIVERSAL pic.twitter.com/FSEnGevrdr
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) November 10, 2025
Sheinbaum noted that it will be the third time that Mexico hosts a FIFA men’s World Cup, known as la Copa Mundial, or simply “la mundial,” in Spanish. Mexico previously hosted the event in 1970 and 1986, and will co-host the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2031.
“This mundial is shared with the United States and Canada, and it represents a very special moment for our country,” Sheinbaum said.
She highlighted that the opening ceremony of the World Cup will be held in Mexico City for the third time ahead of the first match of the tournament at the Estadio Azteca on June 11, 2026.
The president noted that a total of 13 matches will be played in Mexico, including all of the Mexican team’s group matches. In addition to “El Azteca” in the capital, stadiums in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and Monterrey, Nuevo León will also host matches in 2026.
Sheinbaum said that 5.5 million football fans will come to Mexico for the World Cup.
“[It will be] a very special time with a very significant economic spillover,” said the president, who declared that “Mexico is ready” to host the event.
‘A new opportunity to show the world the greatness of Mexico’
Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, one of the federal officials closely involved in the organization of the World Cup in Mexico, highlighted that the commencement of the quadrennial event is just 213 days away.
“This is a new opportunity to show the world the greatness of Mexico, its pre-Columbian richness,” she said before noting that the Mesoamerican ballgame has been placed here “since ancestral times.”
When it comes to football (or soccer if you prefer), “we carry it in our roots,” Rodríguez said.
‘We share the same goal: to organize the best World Cup ever’
The federal government’s World Cup coordinator, Gabriela Cuevas Barron, highlighted that Mexico will become the first country to host la mundial on three separate occasions.
“Three countries — Mexico, the United States and Canada, [and] we share the same goal: to organize the best World Cup ever,” she said.
“In Mexico, it’s possible. We have the passion and experience, our heart and professionalism set us apart,” Cuevas said.
She said that Mexican authorities from all three levels of government are drawing up a “comprehensive” security plan for the World Cup.
“Our objective is to guarantee that this event is carried out in a safe environment for everyone,” Cuevas said.
FIFA’s Mexico chief claims 2026 World Cup will be ‘most ambitious event in the history of humanity’
Jurgen Mainka Ruiz, FIFA’s executive director in Mexico, thanked Sheinbaum on behalf of FIFA president Giovanni Infantino for her “leadership and daily commitment” to making the 2026 World Cup “a truly shared success.”
“As the general director of FIFA’s Mexico office, but also as a Mexican, I am very excited to be able to report that we’re taking firm steps toward delivering a historic project that will be remembered for many years,” he said.
“This edition of the FIFA World Cup will be the most ambitious event in the history of humanity. We’re talking about 104 matches in 39 days, 48 national teams,” said Mainka Ruiz.
Whether the 2026 mundial will actually be “the most ambitious event” in human history is perhaps debatable, but it will at least be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, 16 more than the number that participated in recent editions.
Mainka Ruiz said that 28 teams have already qualified. That number includes the Mexican team, known as “El Tri,” which qualified automatically as one of the three hosts of next year’s event.
Mainka Ruiz: FIFA is ‘very confident’ in Mexico’s security plans
Asked whether FIFA has any concerns about hosting World Cup matches in Mexico due to the insecurity that plagues the country, Mainka Ruiz first noted that the football federation’s Mexico office has been collaborating with Mexican authorities on “the issue of security” for three years.
“We’re very certain, very confident that the protocols and all the plans that are being implemented for the World Cup will provide the security framework [needed] for all the fans, all the teams and all the referees in 2026,” he said.
Sheinbaum: Ticket prices are a matter for FIFA
A reporter noted that the government is speaking a lot about an “inclusive World Cup,” but asserted that the prices of tickets — in the hundreds or even thousands of US dollars — “are not at all inclusive.”
#EnLaMañanera | “La organización del Mundial es de la FIFA. La decisión del precio de los boletos es de la FIFA, no es algo en lo que intervenga ningún gobierno”, explicó Claudia Sheinbaum, ante el cuestionamiento sobre el alto costo de boletos para el Mundial 2026 pic.twitter.com/MxFqZjcQ9h
— El Financiero (@ElFinanciero_Mx) November 10, 2025
A person who earns the minimum wage, who lives day-to-day, who gets up at four in the morning to go to work, has no way of paying the price of a ticket, the reporter said.
In response, Sheinbaum emphasized that FIFA sets ticket prices and the government of Mexico and other governments have no power to “intervene.”
“What are we doing so that people can … [watch the matches]? … What we’re doing is working with FIFA so that there can be a lot of [public] spaces in the three [host] cities and in other cities so that people can watch the matches [on large screens],” said the president, who acknowledged that not all matches will be shown on free-to-air television.
As part of the government’s efforts to host a mundial that is as inclusive as possible, Sheinbaum said that her administration is also planning various World Cup-related “activities” in which ordinary citizens will have the opportunity to participate.
Sheinbaum reiterates that she will give away her World Cup ticket
More than two months after she met with Infantino in Mexico City and announced she would give away the complimentary ticket she received for the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, Sheinbaum reiterated her plan.
“I’m going to give my ticket to a girl, to a young lady who … [wouldn’t] have the opportunity to go and see the opening ceremony [and match] and who is a football lover,” she said.
‘When you step onto the field, think of the great country you represent’
Asked what her message was for the Javier Aguirre-managed Mexican team ahead of next year’s World Cup, Sheinbaum first wished El Tri “a lot of luck” at the tournament.
“And secondly, when you step onto the field think of the great country you represent,” she said.
“Mexico is an extraordinary country with exceptional people. Every time they step onto the field, they should think of that,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico’s best result at a FIFA men’s World Cup is reaching the quarter-final stage, which it did while hosting the event in 1970 and 1986.
El Tri is currently ranked as the world’s 14th best team. Spain, winner of the 2010 World Cup, is ranked No. 1 followed by Argentina, champions in 2022, and France, which prevailed at the 2018 mundial in Russia.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
