The Miami ‘drumroll’ for 2026 World Cup begins Thursday with logo reveal, festivities

The 2026 World Cup is still three years away, but South Florida residents will start seeing signs that the world’s largest sporting event is headed to Miami.

FIFA, Greater Miami and Miami Beach unveiled early Thursday morning #WeAre26, the official World Cup 2026 brand and the Miami host city logo. The launch kicked off the official countdown to the 48-team tournament, which will be held June 21-July 19, 2026, across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Miami is one of 16 host cities and could host as many as four to six games at Hard Rock Stadium. Local organizers also are bidding to host pre-Cup national team training camps, tournament training sites, a fan festival, and international media and broadcast centers.

To celebrate the Miami World Cup logo reveal, a double-decker bus wrapped in signage embarked on a county-wide tour Thursday afternoon visiting Lummus Park, Little Haiti Soccer Park, Coral Gables Youth Center, Tropical Park and Kendall Soccer Park.

Youth soccer players got to mingle with Inter Miami Brazilian captain Gregore and U17 standout Santi Morales, and former players including Peruvian legend Teófilo “Nene” Cubillas, Colombian legend Luis Carlos Perea, Haitian Women’s World Cup player Milan Pierre-Jerome, Juan Jose “Cheche” Vidal of Venezuela, Haitian former stars “ZeNono” Jean-Baptiste and Wagneau Eloi, former Fort Lauderdale Striker Tom Mulroy and Argentine TV soccer announcer Fernando Fiore.

“I am very happy the World Cup will be in Miami because I see how passionate the soccer fans are here,” Gregore said. “It’s important for the United States to be a World Cup host because that will raise awareness of MLS and help development of players in this country.”

A giant sand sculpture of the Miami host city logo was built Thursday at the 10th Street Lifeguard Stand on Miami Beach. The FIFA World Cup logo for Greater Miami and Miami Beach reflects the destination’s blue waters, orange sunsets and pink neon lights. Notable buildings such as the Frost Museum, New World Symphony and Hard Rock Stadium will be lit in this palette.

“We’re in a moment when we’re all about sports in this town with the Heat and Panthers, there’s a lot of excitement about how sports are a unifying element and we know we’re the soccer capital of the United States,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “We have so many internationals who are natural soccer fans and we are building infrastructure to support the soccer habit, so I think it’s great to start the drumroll leading to 2026.”

The #WeAre26 campaign focuses on the people, places and communities unique to each host city, and was commemorated by a series of portraits featuring players from Little Haiti F.C., a free youth soccer club in North Miami.

Levine Cava said details are being finalized for the naming of the 2026 Miami World Cup Host Committee, which will include government, civic, hospitality, business and sports leaders.

“We’re very close,” Levine Cava said. “We’ll have an executive committee and a host committee.”

The host cities are expected to find out in September how many games they will host.

“FIFA has been playing very close to the vest, so we honestly don’t know how many games, but we are hopeful it will be on the higher end of the two- to six-game range because Miami is the only host city in Florida, it’s uniquely and geographically positioned to be easy in, easy out from throughout the hemisphere, so we think there are significant advantages to having as many games as possible in Miami,” said Rolando Aedo, COO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“We also have this amazing stadium that has been updated and was built for world-class soccer and has a proven track record with soccer. So, we are optimistic that FIFA will decide to maximize the number of games in Miami. We also feel we are very well positioned to capture the lion’s share of some of the other high-profile opportunities like the media center as a big outpost of Spanish-speaking media.”

Miami is also in the running to be a host city for the 2024 Copa America, which is being held in the United States next summer. The tournament traditionally features 10 South American teams, and this time will also include six teams from CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean). It is a perfect test run for World Cup host cities.

This month, Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale will host 13 games of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament and the club’s training facility is a candidate to be a World Cup training site. Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham will likely play some role in the 2026 World Cup buildup.

“The World Cup captures the attention of billions, and Greater Miami and Miami Beach will shine on the global stage during this iconic event,” said David Whitaker, President and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. “While our destination is synonymous with hosting the world’s best athletes and championship events, FIFA World Cup 26 will elevate Greater Miami and Miami Beach’s legacy further. To be one of the 16 host cities is thrilling and a testament to the hard work of our elected officials, industry partners and community stakeholders.”

Follow @FWC26Miami on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok for host city updates.