Countries That Frequently Host the FIFA World Cup

The International Football Federation (FIFA) officially opened the 2026 World Cup at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico on June 11 local time.

In addition to Mexico, this 23rd edition also involves the United States and Canada as hosts.

This is the first time that the global football competition has been held in three countries at once.

Previously, a similar event happened in the 2002 World Cup, but the hosts were only two countries, South Korea and Japan.

If traced back from the inaugural edition to now, the country that has hosted the FIFA World Cup the most is Mexico, with three times (1970, 1986, and 2026 editions).

Next are France, Brazil, Germany, the United States, and Italy, each of which has hosted the FIFA World Cup twice.

Here is the breakdown of FIFA World Cup hosts from the 1930 edition to 2026:

• Mexico: 3 times (1970, 1986, and 2026 World Cups)
• France: 2 times (1938 and 1998 World Cups)
• Brazil: 2 times (1950 and 2014 World Cups)
• Germany: 2 times (1974 and 2006 World Cups)
• United States: 2 times (1994 and 2026 World Cups)
• Italy: 2 times (1934 and 1990 World Cups)
• Uruguay: 1 time (1930 World Cup)
• Switzerland: 1 time (1954 World Cup)
• Sweden: 1 time (1958 World Cup)
• Chile: 1 time (1962 World Cup)
• England: 1 time (1966 World Cup)
• Argentina: 1 time (1978 World Cup)
• Spain: 1 time (1982 World Cup)
• South Korea: 1 time (2002 World Cup)
• Japan: 1 time (2002 World Cup)
• South Africa: 1 time (2010 World Cup)
• Russia: 1 time (2018 World Cup)
• Qatar: 1 time (2022 World Cup)
• Canada: 1 time (2026 World Cup)