Kyei Manu 
Story By: Kyei Manu
The World football governing body FIFA, has set Friday, 5 December 2025, as the date for the final draw of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
This was announced by the US President Donald Trump, who is also the Chairman of the Kennedy Center and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the White House.
The historic and iconic John F. Kennedy Center will serve as the location for team officials, ambassadors, fans representing the tournament’s Host Cities and global media representatives, amongst others are all expected to witness the biggest event.
The host venue, is America’s national cultural centre and a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, which has over the years attracted millions of visitors each year to more than 2,000 performances, events and exhibits.
The Final draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026, will be witnessed by fans from each of the 16 Host Cities (2 from Canada, 3 from Mexico and 11 from the United States) will participate in a special lottery for the chance to win complimentary admission to the once-in-a-lifetime event, including a VIP experience. A select number of admissions will also be allocated to each Host City, with the lottery procedures to be announced in due course.
However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the announcement said: “We are excited to host the most anticipated Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup in history in the cultural and entertainment heart of the United States, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The draw is a major tournament milestone and one that will continue the remarkable build-up to the biggest sporting event ever, as we get set for many landmark FIFA events across North America throughout 2026″.
He continued, “We look forward to welcoming the team delegations, our partners, global media, and, uniquely fans representing each of the 16 wonderful Host Cities, to the capital of the United States for this significant occasion.”
Meanwhile, the draw will commence at 12:00 local time (18:00 CET) and will be telecast live to the three host countries and around the globe by FIFA’s Media Partners. Further details of the draw, including broadcast information and the full draw procedures, will be published on the FIFA website in due course.
The teams representing the host countries will be assigned to positions A1 (Mexico), B1 (Canada) and D1 (USA), as per the match schedule released last year.
So far, 10 countries in addition to the three host countries, have already qualified for next year’s FIFA World Cup. Defending champions Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan – who are set to make their tournament debut – Korea Republic, New Zealand and first-timers Uzbekistan.
