FIFA is facing fresh criticism over the 2026 World Cup, with Brian Smith arguing that fans could suffer most from the decision to spread the tournament across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The expanded tournament is being sold as the biggest World Cup ever, but the scale is exactly where the concern starts.
A competition stretched across three countries can create spectacle for organizers while making the experience harder for supporters. Smith’s criticism landed because it focused on the people who give the tournament its atmosphere.
The issue is not whether North America can host major events, it is whether FIFA has made the fan journey more expensive and complicated than it needed to be.
Brian Smith says FIFA made USA, Mexico, and Canada World Cup harder for fans
talkSPORT shared Brian Smith’s criticism of the 2026 World Cup plan, with the broadcaster arguing that the three-country format risks making the tournament harder for ordinary supporters.
“It would have been so much smarter and easier and better for fans and supporters who actually make the World Cup what it is, to have this in Mexico or Canada or the United States of America,” Smith said.
He added, “I can’t imagine that your team starts in Mexico and then it goes to the US and then eventually, maybe if you make the Final, you’re gonna pay tens of thousands of dollars to go watch the Finals match in a swamp in New Jersey.”
The geography of the tournament supports his concern. FIFA has confirmed 16 host cities, with 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada, creating a footprint far larger than a traditional single-country World Cup.
Following one team could mean flights, border crossings, hotel spikes, and uncertainty over where the next knockout match might land. For fans already dealing with ticket costs, that turns the tournament into a travel challenge as much as a football one.
Brian Smith says FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey proves fan issue
Smith’s wider point was that the tournament would have been cleaner if FIFA had kept the World Cup in one country. His argument became sharper because the final is scheduled for New York/New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
“It would have been so much better for FIFA to have a World Cup, like it always is, in one single country and make it a lot easier and a lot better and a lot cheaper for the fans who support the World Cup,” Smith concluded.
The final location has already faced transport-cost scrutiny, with officials cutting proposed bus and train prices to MetLife Stadium after backlash. That detail supports Smith’s central concern about the burden being placed on supporters.
FIFA can point to bigger crowds, more markets, and a historic 48-team tournament. Smith’s complaint is that bigger does not automatically mean better for fans, especially if the people who create the World Cup atmosphere are forced into a travel marathon.
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